state &'7K/e,7Y.'o^ cf f^f ^ o,.>.4'd'ff^^>? 

PllOCEEDINUS 



<iK TIIK 



FlllST STATE CONVENTION 



OF THE 



COLORED CITIZENS 



OK THE 



STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 



IKLI) AT yACRAMKNTO >0V. 20711 21RT, AND 22D, IN THE 
COLOUED METJIODIST CUUllCH. 



SACRAMENTO: 

liKMOCBATIU STATE JOURNAL I'RINT; 

1855. 



PUOCKEDINGS 



OF TIIK 



CONVENTION 



Iti olt(>(liriic(' to cull, !i Convention of the colored people of the Slate of 
Caliroriiiii, liy flicir di Ici^ates, ussenilih'd At iSncranicnto, in the e(ih)reil 
.M( lliiKli.^t, ("linn li. (Ill 'I'm s(l;iy, Nov. 2()th, for the pnrpoHe of takinf^ into 
rnii.-,i(|ri:iii(Hi the pin|jriily of pclitionynj? the Lefjislnturo of Californiiv, for n 
rli;in;.'c in flic l;ru- rcl;itin.;> to the testimony of eolofed people, in" the Couits 
of justice (, I' till; State. Also, to ii(lo[»t plans for the general injprovenient 
uf their conilitinu tliron;:hont the State. 

Al !(» o'cli ck, A. -M., the Convention was ealled to order hy J. ]}. San- 
ilrison, of Sacraini iito ; .Iact)l) Frunei.s. of San FranciHCO, wa.s (;alle<l to the 
Chair, and Al'icii N'aiiicl, of Sierra, ap])ointe<l Secretary. 

.1. Jl. TowiiHiid, t/f San" I'r.inciseo, moved that 'V Connnittce of //tr, lu; 
appointed to cNaminc tlic credentials of ddej^ate.s. The motion wa.s earrieil, 
and the fiillnwiiii;' ^'cntlcmcn ai)pointcd ; 

Cuiiihiiiiif on Cinlciiiiitls. -V.. W Duplex, Vuba ; M. W. Uibbs, San 
rrjiiieiM'o ; ,1. n. Sander.soM, Sacranicntit , Alfred White, TBoliimno ; Al- 
iK'ft V'anii 1, Sierra. 

The (.'onniiittee on Creilentials presented their Report, a.s follows : 

Nnnd»er df ('ountieK represented, 10 ; nnndier of Delej^atcs present, 49. 

Fnnii J-y Ihrat/o County —VAlward 11. riieli)s, William II. Thomas, 
■hiscph Suiallwooil, John Hniler, William liuinn, i'etcr Blaekstone, Charles 
II. .McDoni^ill, John Galley, William J. Hardin, Isaac Morton, 10. 

From S(M:rn7iicnfn County. — .1. H. Sanderson, (Jeorge W. Booth, John 
<J. Wilson, Emory WatCrii, Thomas Dctter, David Brown, James NicholafT 
Clayton Miller, Jamcs 11. Starkey, David Lewi.s, 10. 

From XulxiCounty. — Edward \\ Duplex, Isaac TripTett, 2. 

Front Sierra County. — Albert Vaniel, I. 

• From Nevada Count^f.—Dwrnd Mahoncy, Dennis Carter, George Du- 
vall, a. 

From San Joaf/uin County. — Jeremiah King, 1. 

From San Francisco County. — II. M. Collins, J. II. Townsend, "^^^^ 11. 
ewhy, J. 1*. Dyer, D. W. Haggles, F. G. Barbodocs, HcnryF. Thompson, 

i^. Gilliiird, T. M. D. Ward, D. P. Stokc.s, Henry Coruish, Edward J. 



Johnson, J. J. Moore, M. W. flilihs, Willinm TI. Yntos, Jacob Francis, 
Peter Anderson, William II. JTorpcr, 18. 

Front, Co?Ura Costa County. — Fielding? Smitlioa, 1. 
From Santa Clara County. — W. D. Moses, 1. 
From Tuolumne County. — Alfred J. White, John 11. Mo'tIs, 2. 
The report was accepted, and the Coniniittec discharjrcd. 
H. M. Collins moved that a Committee of five be appointed to nomi- 
nate a li«^ of ollicers for the pernianeiit ortrnnizatioii of the Convention. 

Mr. Suiiderson proi»osed to unund, liy appointing " one ))erson from 
each county represented." He ihonj^ht a nmre ^^eneral and impartial ex- 
pression of the feelings of members would thu.s be secured in the choice of 
oflBcers, and hard-feeling and complain't be prevented hereafter. 

J. G. Wilson said, that according to parliamentary rule8,^on every 
qnestion of this kind, the motion must be submitted in writing. Jefferson's 
Manual is my authority in this. The good sense of gentlemen will enable 
them to see that wo must have rules and abide by them, or wc can occom- 
plish nothing. 

Mr. Townsend said he thought there were some persons of common 
sense in the assembly; that the business before us can be got through with, 
without quibbling about parliamentary rules, or any other rules, except 
such as should govern gentlemen in their intercourse with each other. In 
saying this, he wished to give no offense to a; y one He hoped the busi- 
ness before us would not be delayed by stickling for little points of order. 
The vote tvas then taken on the original motion to appoint u Committee 
of five. It was not sustained. 

TXe question on amendment that Committee consist of ouc from each 
county was put, and carried. 

The chair appointed the following gentlemen : 

II. M. Collins, l?eter Blackstonc, D. Mahoney, 

Alfred J. White, E. V. Duplex, Fielding Smithea, 

W. D. Mo.scs, Jeremiah King, J amis R. Starkey, 

Albert Vaniel. 
The Committee retired to deliberate and prepare their repoi t. During 
their absence the meeting was addressed by Mr. Newby, or San Franei.seo. 
He caraestly prayed that memlxjrs of the Convention would demean 
themselves one toward the other with due charity and a spirit of concilia- 
tion. 'Tis no evidence of ubility or talent for one who hapi)ens to lie 
informed upon some points of etiquette in debate, to jump Jip aiid <lisphiy 
that knowledge at the expense of the feelingA of his Jellowmembcrs, who 
may not be so well informed as himself. A better evidence of good sense 
and good breeding will be found in manifesting charity, and listening 
patiently to the remarks of /each other. 

Rev. Mr. Moore, of San. Francisco — 1 a])provc of the remarks of Mr. 
Newby, and hope they may have the weight they deserve, and tend to keep 
down that spirit of contention and the disposition, to personal remarks so 
frequent in all bodies of this nature. If any one thinks himself aggrieved 
by the remarks of another, let him make allowa;ices for the excitement of 
the time and occasion, and pass it by. The ([ucstions before ns are of too 
mach importance to be laid aside for any personal considerations of mine 
or yours, or any one of us. The subject upon which we arc about to de- 
liberate is one which interests all classes — interests both races; and I do 
sincerely trust that, keeping in view its great importance, wc may put aside 
all lesser consideratioua-^all party, all i>ersonal piiifies and preferences — 



u:ivinnf onrsclvos n)> carnostly as mm to its nrfomplishmcnt. Do not. lot ns 
ilis-^nu'o ourselves — ilo not let those who deny us the possession (if intellect 
:in(l nonl, Ii!iv<j so f^reat a triumph us to sec ns incctirif; thus for u nol)le 
purposv, mill failinj^, because we ctaiiuot f^overn our passions. Let us rather 
prove to tlicni that wo have all the nerve undjenerfry to complete, as well ns 
the brain to phin a work of moral, rcj^encration. We are Ainericuns — col- 
ored Yankees — and wo are as proud of the soil ol America as they who 
boast loudest of their love. 

Mr. Yates — I re^^Tetted that personal feclin;;s were exhibited this morn- 
iuf^, in the discussion of u certain question. Brethren, we must be firm, 
resolute, and al)Ovo all, have no disunion or jealousy amonj^st us if we 
would carry on this work. I will say to this Convention in the language 
of a celebrated divine, who, iu a i)rayer before the early Congress of the 
States, in tiio stormy days of the revolution, prayed for unity among, the 
people, and that " while they were many as the waves, they might be one as 
the Kca." We are to know but one purpo.se — act together for the attainment 
of one object. 

While I acknowledge that in form, appearance and education the African 
cannot compete with the Caucassion race,* yet his sympathies are as warm, 
and his feclings'as human. He can i)e grateful for kindness shown, and is 
as ready to forgive the injuries done him— he loves his country as dearly as 
they. I was raised and ediii;rtted by the white man, and I thank the hand 
that reareii me — I love the soil that nurtured me; so do, we all, and if wc 
seek for patriotism and lovo of country, wiiere should it be found stronger 
or warmer than in our own bosoms ? 

Mr. Wilson, of Sacrameii'o — Gentlemen mtist not feel insulted if I or 
liny other of our fellow-memhers liappen to express a dilferenl opinion from 
their own in a manner whicii to their cold unimpassioned soul nuiy seem unduly 
earnest and exrited. Men are dilVereatly constituted, and while .some seem 
searcely moved by the mightiest sulyects, others will feel an intensity of ex- 
citement ujtoii sulijects tlic njost tiivial. The same (Jod that made a 
diversity of colors, hues, kinds and conditions, has seen proper to make 
minds of dilVerent orders ami diverse temperaments. 

Mr. Ward maile some sensible remarks coneerning the relative condi- 
tions of llie white and colored races, and eraled by saying : " Tlic great Se- 
l)ast(jpiil against wiiieh we are struggling is local pnjudice. Let ns l''"',:;^ 
up the battalions of reason, triilh, :ind justice, and show the w.ild llie injus- 
tice of its prejudice, and the falsehood of its oft repe''!,vAi taunt, that we are 
liut a connecting link Ix'tween the monkey and the man. -Let usj)rove to the 
world that we have capacities and aml)ilions for the enjoyment Of a much 
more elevated sphere than that in which we have so long grovelled. 

Mr. Sanderson said : I feel a deep interest in the work in which wo nro 
about to engage. When tirst it was annuunecd that this Convention was 
to bo held, I rejoiced: W,e y^n^ .scattered over the State in s-mall numl)ers ; 
the laws si;arcely recognizing us ; ptiWio sentiment is prijndiced against us ; 
we are mi.su nderstoud, and misrepresented; \i wit^ needful that we should 
meet, conunnnicate, and coi.fer with each other npuii .some plan of represent- 
ing our interests before tho people of Californi.-i ; we owe mir friends o<' S:in 
F.-ancisi!0 thanks f.r taking the initiatory in this movement; it is the most 
important step on tlli^ side of the Continent ; we have taken in th cour>c 
of improvement on which we have entered perhaps no snbicet is attracting 
the attention of the public nu)re, tiian the ellort- which tlijl! ::olored peoj.ic 

•TliA»boro •entonci' WM «'>rrrct«i| ill a siih.i i|iicnt "IMP' li u[ I \ ■ ». 



arc m.ikiiiir to uli'V.';ti» thomsdvi'S ; tlic j)ul)lii' cyo is upon us ; lor our sur- 
c-ess iti llii-:, a-i iu all worthy ••IVorts, wi> li.ivi- lli('1)cst wislnN nf .:;ooil men. 
1 l)olicve tluTi' an^ many iu tlii-^ Stuto, this coiuumuity, who arc awaitiuu: 
tho issu;' of our ilolilx'ratioiis witli tiiixiety. Th(>rt' are thosi? too, who tliiiik 
wo caauot n)U(.lu-t this Couveutiou with iulclliijcnce ami al)ility ; they ex- 
pect scenes of (li-iac^n't'iucat, an. I confusion ; I trust we shall disappoint 
iheiu ; let us delilteratf ami act, each emulous to perform his duty ; and 
when tlio report of our doiii^-^ .^oi.-^ out before the people, tliey shall 1)0 oo;n- 
polledto say n'tli done. 

Mr. Stoki'H, of San I'Vancisco, wn.< tlieii called, and saiil : 
The several distin-^uished >peakers who have preceded me, have sa I all 
I could have said, and much aliler than my hnn\lde al»ility could iiav said 
it. After thciu I feel like annthor Al.'xand(!r without one world to c m jaer'. 



The very fact'^%^ur lK'i:i^ here to-day under the .sanction of public ojnii'ioa, 
and the priitection (»f piilijic law, to express otir-;i'lves freely, and delil)>! ate 
upon measures IVtlr iv.ir o»vn vrood, is to me m\ evidcm'o that a bri;;hter des- 
tiny is before us ; 'Li.s but 'a few years since a.ll this State wa^ tho abode of 
UiiOthcr race, who owned the soil and roainrd at will, with nono to molest 
or make them afraid. Tlio white man came, and we c;uiio with him ; and 
])yt!ie ble.ssini;; of (lod, wo will stay witli him side by side ; wherever he 
^yes we will tro ; and .■should another Sutlrr di>cover anotlier Kl Porado, 
bo it where it may-north of the Caribcan or .-outh of it — no .mjouit .-halt 
the whit.; man'.- loot be lirmly planted iheri', thin lo ikin;.^ nver his sho.ddor 
he will see the l)laek man, like hi- shadow, by his sid<'. 

'L'iie C'lmmittt.'o on nominatin;; a list of olVicors for the permanent or^'ani- 
y.ation of tho Conveation. reported tho follovvin-^ thron;;h the Chairman, II. 
M. Collins : 

For Pirsiil'iit. — William 11. Vates, of San Francisco. 

For Vur Viisi'L nts. — .I..seph Sniallwood, of Kl Dorailo ; Deiiuis Car- 
ter, of N'.vad;i ; Albert Vaniel, of Sierra; Fieldiii;^' Smitln-a, of C(»ni:M 
Cosla. 

Sfrrrf/i/irs. .] . I). Sanderson, Sacramento ; John II. MtUTi.-", Tuohunne ; 
Frederic (J. l):irii;idoes, San i-'rancisco. 

l-'nr ('Iti'plii.iii. ---Ilev. Jnhn .1. Moire, of San Francisco. 

.Mi.'^srs .J. I), (lilliaid and .M. W. (Jil»bs, v.-fic app^'iii'i'l a (.'oiiimitti'c Ir 
wait upon Mr. Vates, inform him of his flection, and coniluct him to tlw 
Chair. 

L'pon a.-isamiu'Lr the Chair, Mr. ^'atcs thaidjed t/ie dilc.rates f^r the hon- 
or co:'|Vrr!il on him, and .slid In; W(jnld end^'avor to tli.-idc.irL'c the duties of 
his ollii-;-, i.u' :i:;i'ly and inijiariially. lie trust.-il tJi,' procci;din'.,'s throuirh- 
oat would be ,>a.;h as to ri'llecB honor up iii themstdves- and the country 
which jravo them birth. ' If," ,siid he, " there are f<eliii;,'S of lilii-rty with- 
in tho breasts of tho.-e i r, .M'lit, wlio but the Caucasian tanulit tlimi to n<'i 
The .Slid '>n uliieh lirst we drew t'lo Uvath of lite — our eoiinfr}'*^ we love 
li'T. and l!ioie_:u?'.vro:)L'<'il I'V her, wo deli^lit to call her mother." 

On moti.iuof 11. .M. v.'olli'i,-;, a C^amittrc i.f live was appointed, to Jirc- 
pare rules for the irovrrnmeiit, of tliis (!unvention. 

I he following- u'eu'ihinen were appointoil by the ('hair : 

.1. n. Townsead, !)<'u;iis (.'arler, All)ert Vaniel, Fieldin,;; ^mithca, niiil 
ismnry Wati rs. 

();i moiion nf .). II. Tov.iisend, it. was or^i'Tcd that a i>n,-ine.ss CouiniilU'*', 



lo cousi.st of nnr from each county, l)C J4»|)oiiit(d to niK)rt 111.011 tli.- onlor «»l" 
"InisiiicsK of the Convention, to \w. Hpi)0!'it('<l hy the Clniir. 

ComviUKr.—Wmixm II. Ncwhy, Chairman ; JoJm (J. Wilson, Edwurd 
I'he)p.s, Isaac Triplolt, (ioor^'c Dtivoll, Alfred White, Fieldiiif,' Smithoa, 
Albert VanicI, W. D. Musch, Jeremiah Kinp, 

On motion of II. M. Collins, a Committee of ^A;rr \va,s ajtpointcd on Fi- 
nanee, con.sisting of J. .1. Moore, 1). W. ]lii-:-lu.<,^and Kmory Waters. 

15y authority of vote, the Chair ai)pointed John Hntlcr and William 
Queen, to act as door-keej)cr.-i to the Convention. 

Mr. Town.scnd pave notice that he should oifor a, resohitioii for the ajv 
pointiueut of a Committee to ascertain, as far as i)ractical)lc, the actual 
number, amoui.t of capital, ta.xes, occupation, and character of clic colored 
people of the State of California. 

^ At half i)ast two o'clock, v. m., the Convention adjourned until four 
o'clo(;t, 1'. M. 



AFrKllNOON SESSION— FIRST DAY. 

Convention met at four o'clock, Albert VanieJ, Vice Trcsident, in the 
chair. 

At the sun;-estion of the Ucv. ]{. P. Stokes, the followinj,' article, from 
the Crass A'allcy 7"flrqrnj)/t, was read by the Secretary, amid considerable 
applause : 

"The fullowinji^ article from the (irajis Valley Telf^rnj,h, j)rosents ^ 
^(•nsil)le, well written view of the sultjects \i\n}\i which it treats. We have 
had fre(juont occasion to notice the sj)irit of candor which pervades the 
columns of the Tdci^rajih, and tlic <^eneral tone of liberality with which it is 
conductcxl. — Ed. San Frandxco Erenntf^ Journal. 

" 'Wc i>erceive that the colored people of this State are to hold a Con- 
vention at Sacramento, on Tuesday, the 2()th of the present month. The 
object of the Convention is to bring together a full delegation of people of 
color, from all j)arts of the State, in order that they raay compare notes, 
communicate information as to the general condition of things among them- 
selves, aiul if possible fi.\ upon some common plan for the iutellectual, 
moral and social improvement of their condition as a class in this State. 

" 'With the exception of a very small portion of the people of this State, 
composed in part of wliat are commonly known as 'dough-faces,' i. c.. 
Northern men who seek to curry favor with Southerners, by advocatmg 
sentiments which arcfdistastcful to intelligent Southern people themselves, 
and a very few ultra Southern men, wliose opinions and influence among 
their own brethren" arc of quite as little importance as t\to. ultra abolitionists 
of the North arc among the Northern men; we say, with the exception of 
a very few people of such a description, the citizens of this State, both 
from the South and the North, are not only willing but desirous to see the 
condition of the colored people in our midst improved, by means of proper 
•ducational and social privileges, to the end that they may become intelli- 
gcut, law-il>idiug and useful members of the commuuity. Those timid gcu- 



8 

llciucn, uiul those limid editors, who are Tearful that any word or movcraent 
on the part of either white or blaek to brinj; about sueli a result, will sj)rea(l 
discord aud disscutioii in the State, forj^et that iu so doing we are but fol- 
lowiug in the footsteps of mauy even of the slave States themselves. 
Kcutucky lias made public provision for the education of all free blacks 
within her border, and ere another year elapses, Morth Carolina and per- 
haps other Southern States, will make even more liberal ])rovision lor the 
moral and intellectual improvement of the cqlpred peoi)le in their midst. 
And shall free California be behind Kentucky jand other dart States in 
such a matter;, not only of philanthropy but of right ? Out upon such 
waddle! Sensible, well-meanhig citizens will never be guilty of it. While 
we tax the blacks, and thus make them contribute to the education of our 
own white children, let us not deny "them access to the fountain of knowl- 
edge, and thereby compel them to grow np iu ignorauc'e, degredation an<l 
misery. So far as the proposed Convention siiall have for itei object tlrv 
bettcrauce of tho social and iniellcelual conditioif of the colored people, 
wo bid them Xjlod speed.' " 

D. P. Stokes offered a Resolution, proposing to instruct the Secretary to 
tender th^ thanks of this Convention, to the editor of the Grass Valley 
Telegraph, for tbe unprejudiced manner in which he has represented our 
objects and motives, in holding this Convention. 

Mr. Newby moved to amend, l«y including the " San Francisco K veiling 
Journal." The ainendment was accepted, aud after remarks by Messrs. 
Ward, Stokes, Newby, and Gilliard, the resolution was' unaniinoti.sly adopt- 
ed, aud th/Secretary instructed to carry out tlie intention of llie llesolu- 
tion. 

The Committee on Rules for the (Joverumeut of the Convention, then 
reported the following 

RULES. 

1. Each session of the Convention shall be opened by prnyer. 

2. This Convention shall hold two sessions each day until it adjourns. 

3. Morning sessions shall commence at 10 o'clock, A. M., and adjourn 
at 2 o'clock, P. M. 

Afternoon sessions shall commence at 4 o'clock, P. M., aud adjourn at 7 
o'clock, P. M. 

4. The President shall decide all points of order, subject to an oppcul 
by any inember. 

5. The President shall appoint all CommittccSj unless otherwise ordered 
by the Convention. 

e! When any member desires to speak, he shall rise in his place, aud 
address the Chair, 

7. When two or more members arise at the same time, the Chair shall 
decide who is entitled to the floor. • 

8. Each person shall be allowed to speak fifteen minutes at one time 5 
and no person shall be all'owed to speak more than twice, upon the laniu 
subject, without permission from the House. 

9. All personalities shall be avoided in debate. 

10. No subject shall bo open for discussion, until a motion baa bvoii 
made and seconded. 

11. All Resoiutions shall be reduced to writing, to be rcgiatereu. 



12. The order of business shall be as follows : 
1st. Prayer. 

2d. Reading minutes of last meeting. 
3d. Report of Standing Committees. 
4th, Report of Special Committees . 
5th. Unfinished business of last session. 
Cth. Miscellaneous business. 
7th. Adjournment. 

13. Questions of order, not contained ^ in these Rules, shall be 'decided 
iccording to Cushing's Manual. 

14. These Rules shall not bo altered, amended or suspended, unless by » 
vote of two thirds of the members present. 

Pomnittec on Rules. — J. K. Townsend. Dennis Carter, Fielding Smithea, 
Albert Vaniel, Emory Waters. 

These Rules were adopted. 

Mr. Ncwl)y, Chairman of the Business Committee, read a Report, whi^h 
was accepted and laid ujton the table. 

Th(f Convention then adjourned until Wednesday. 



SECOND DAY'S PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION. 

Wednesday Morning, Not. 8l8t. 

The Convention was called to order at 10 o'clock. President Yates in 
the chair. 

Business of the meeting opened by the reading of the 104th Psdlm, and 
prayer by the chaplain," Reir. J. J. -Moore. Minutes of the last meeting 
read and approved. 

On motion of Mr. Morris, the mles were read. 

The Report of the Business Committee was called op by Mr. Newby, 
and read. 

REPORT. 

Whereas, We, the colored people of the State of California, believing 
that the law of this State, relating to the testimony of colored people in 
the courts of justice, recorded in 394th section of 3d Chapter of an Act, 
entitled : 

" An Act for regulating proceedings in the Coart practice of the Courts 
of this State," as follows. : 

" And pcrsnnx having one-half or more of TUgro blood, shall not be wit- 
nesses in an action or proceeding,' to which a white person is a party " — to 
be unjust in it itself, and oppressive to every class in the community ; that 
this law was intended to protect white persons, from a class whose intellec- 
tual and social condition was supposed to be so low as to justify the depriv- 
ing them of tluur testimony ; and 



10 

WUrcas, wc believe that careful inquiries into our social, moral, relig- 
ious, intericctaal and financial condition, will demonstrate that, as a doss, 
(allowing for the disabilities under which wo labor,) we compare favorably 
with any class in the community ; and 

Whereas, We believe that petitions to the Legislature, to convene in Jan- 
nary, praying for the abrogation of this law, will meet with a favorable 
response ; believing, as we do, it cannot be sustained, on the ground of 
sound policy or expediency ; therefore. 

Resolved, That we will memorialize the Legislature, at its approaching 
session, for a repeal of the 3d and 4th paragraphs of Section 394, of an 
Act passed April 29th, 1851, entitled, " An Act to regulate proceedings 
in civil cases in the courts of justice of this State." And also for the re- 
peal of the fourteenth Section of " An Act concerning crimes and Punish- 
ments." 

No. 3. Resolved, That a Committee be appointed with full powers to 
adopt such measures as may be deemed expedient to accomplish the object 
in view. 

No. 4. Resolved, That we recommend the organization of a Grand As- 
sociation, with auxiliaries in every county, for the purpose of collecting sta- 
tistical and other evidences of our advancement and prosperity ; also to 
encourage education, and a correct and pro])er deportment in our relations 
toward our white fellow citizens, and to each other. 

No. 5. Resolved, That we regret and reprobate the npathy ond timid- 
ity of a portion of our people, in refusing to take part in any pul)lic dem- 
onstration having for its object the rtjmoval of political and other disabili- 
ties, by judicious and conservative action. 

No. 6. Resolved, That we recommend the creation of a contingent fund 
of $10,000, to be controlled by a committee having discretionary powers, 
to enable us to carry forward any measure that has for its object the ame- 
lioration of our condition. 

Mr. Towusend presented a series of resolutions, which he read, and then 
moved to substitute them for the report of the Business Committee. 

Mr. Newby said : " The motion of Mr. Townsend is unparalleled in the 
history of Conventions. Such presamption I have never witnessed. His 
proposition is disconrtepus in the extreme, both to the Committee and the 
Convention. The Committee, under your instructions, consider they have 
done the best they could in the time allotted to them ; they have present- 
ed their report. Have some respect to the feeUngs of your Committee ; 
dispose of the Report properly, and discharge the Committee before %ny 
such motion as that proposed is entertained." 

Mr. Townsend withdrew his Resolutions,. by-leave of the Convention 

A motion to adopt the Report of the Business Committee, as a whole, 
being opposed by Mr. Townsend and Mr. Morris, and others, was lost. 

On motion of Mr. E. A. Phelps, the preamble to the Report was taken 
up and discussed. 

Mr. Townsend was opposed to the preamble, on the gronnd that it was 
crouching in its present form. All he wanted was to present a manly, 
courteousland dignified appeal to the Logislature, to grant thorn what is 
simply just in their opinion. He believed by so doing they coulrl command 
the respect of their white brethren. 

Mr. Lewis endorsed the views of the hust speaker. 

Mr, Newby said it was much easier generally to find fault than comipeud 



11 

— and tho ohjcctions expressed by Mr. Townsend were to him abont as clear 
fts mod. All the prearal)le expressed was true, and simple to Dnderstand. 
He had not in drawinj^ it up drawn largely npon Roman or Qrccian history, 
to illustrate it by quotations that are to be found in every school book, but 
it merely stated wliut was known to every man in tlie State. A case in 
point occurred last week in the United States Court in San Francisco. A 
man was tried for murder on the high sea, the pnly witness in t^he case was 
a negro, and the Court decided that his evidemee could not be received, 
and the man was liberated, thus inflicting a great wrong npon white men, 
by permitting a criminal to go at large because he killed a man in presence 
of & negro instead of a white man. This, he consideced, was more of a 
wrong to the whites than to them. The gentleman is opposed to cringing. 
Tho language of the preamble is plain and honest, there is no crouchhig in it. 

Mr. Townsend said, it is too late in the day to appeal to the prejudices 
of the people. The gentleman finds fault with the ancients, their learning 
and their graces of style in composition; or with us, because we \^jould 
avail ourselves of them. 1 wish to rebuke this spirit. What I am anxious 
for is, that whatsoever paper goes from this Convention, while it tells the 
peoplfe' of California what we desire of them — whether in Grecian or 
Roman quotations — shall challenge criticisms in respect to style and matter. 
Our business Committee should not be so sensitive About their report; their 
action must be pronouucad upon; if we disapprove of it, we shall reject, 
or offer something better; if we approve, then only shall we accept. I 
know the Committee have worked faithfully, for which they deserve thanks; 
let them not, therefore, suppose all they do must be adopted. 

Mr. Wilson urged concession and harmony in all their deliberations, and 
thought the preamble of the report was all that could be desired. 

Mr. Smithea, though one of the Committee, was opposed to the adoption 
of the report. He was in favor of presenting their deliberations in as dig- 
nified or elegant language as possible. 

Mr. M. W. Gibbs was in favor of striking out all the words of the pre- 
amble, after the words " and whereas, we believe tl/at this section was 
intended to protect white persons from a class," «fec., and made a motion to 
that effect. He said this language was undignified and untrue; that the 
original cause of the objection to the testimony of colored persons, was 
prejudice against them, and not ignorance of their general condition. The 
motion of Mr. Gibbs was lost. 

Mr. Newby said, we are an oppressed people, the subjects of a bitter 
prejudice, which we are now 8eeki"ng to overcome. In appealing to our 
oppressors, we desire to do so in a^ manner that will have weight. 

The Legislature which passed the act depriving us of testimony, doubt- 
less acted — or a portion of them — from an honest principle. I believe 
that they acted from what they believed io be a sense of duty; but they 
could not foresee the operations of the law in a State like California. Let 
us be careful, and not, by our impolicy, thwart ourselves in the action we 
are taking. 

On motion of Mr. Gilliard, the preamble was laid npon the table. , 

Mr. Galliard moved the resolutions and report of the Committee be re- 
ferred to a special Committee of five. 

Mr. Stokes thought a Committee of five should not l>e entrusted with 
such an important question, as it would give them the power to over-ride 
the whole Convention. 

Said he, look to your action. Yesterday yon appointed your Business 



12 

Committee, from all the coaatlcs, in order that the voices of all should ba 
fairly represented. To-day, you would take the business which they feave 
deliberately arranjfed, and give it to five persons. Are ficc likely to do 
better thau tenl The gentleman has done that which is well calculated to 
produce coufusiou. 

Mr. Qalliard was in favor of the Cpmmittee of five, aud the re-commit- 
roeut, nevertheless. He said, I am no JEolus, raising commotions in the 
Convention; that distinction belongs to the gentleman who has just spoken 
My object in proposing the Committee of Jive is to facilitate action. Let 
the Committee be selected from the Business Committee; and if you desire 
it, let Lt be composed wholly of members from the country, so the business 
is properly accomplished. 

Mr. Qalliard's motion was lost. 

It was voted, that the vote to lay the report of the Business Committee 
on the table be reconsidered. 

It was then voted that the report of the Business Committee be returned 
back into their hands, with instructions to report again at the ofteryoon 
session. 

On motion of Mr. Gibbs, it was voted to rj fer the resolutions of Mr. 
Townsend to the Business Committee, to bo reported en at the afternoon 
session. 

On motion of Mr. H. M. Collins, it was voted : 

That any person having business to lay before this Convention, shall give 
the same into the hands of the Business Committee, to be reported by thenj. 

President Yates vacated the Chair, which was assumed by Vice Presi- 
dent, Denuis Carter. 

The Business Committee having withdrawn, the Convention was ad- 
dressed by Rev. Darius P. Stokes, as follows : 

Mr. Stokes— While as a people we are striving for our own adva^ice- 
raent, and endeavoring to 6btain a recognition in society as men, let us not 
in tbe selfishness of our own plans, lose sight of other things, equally our 
duty. Look abroad upon the varied face of this favored country, and do 
we not see in the mountain top, and in the valley, evils existing among our 
kind ? sin stalking in the noon-day, and no hand put forth to stop its pro- 
gress ? Let us first correct ourselves, aud become worthy of respect, then 
tbe world will not withhold its reward. One thing I have observed 
amongst our race, that while all are consumers, very few ore producers. 
We see through this State very few colored furmerSj or mechanics, or arti- 
sans ; yet it can be proved we maf^become as proficient in the.sc branches 
OS other people. Still, there is no awakeu'ng to the importance of proving 
ourselves capable of conducting the affairs of business with skill and advan- 
tage. In this State, there are over three and a half millions of properly 
owped by the colored population; from this several thousand dollars 
of tax is collected every year — we own mining claims valued at $30,000 
per share — we have every advantage for unfolding whatever talent we 
may possess, and yet we are doing nothing. In other countries there are 
raechauics and artisans whose proficiency has astonished the world. Here 
we have no energy. Why not have our stores, our stock exchanges, our 
banking houses, as others ? If we have capacities let them not sleep for- 
ever. This Convention is the initiatory step to a great end. The goal is 
before us— let us press on. Jft like the Athenians, we sit over our leasts 
in fanf-icd security while Philip thunders at the city gates, we shall be de- 
feated in all our desires. All we have gained will le lost. We slinll .soon 



13 

possess no identity as a people— no place or position. Why should we in 
California be bcluMd our brcthreb of other States ? In Massachusetts — 
that cradle of liberty — our cause has awakened much interest. The j)or- 
tals of society, so long closed, are being thrown open to us — there are col- 
ored ministers and ductorrf. and lawyers — educated men. Yes, and men 
for UR to be proud of, and thank God for ! Is all tliis nothing ? ' Is ascen- 
dency in tlic great scale of moral being worth nothing ? Are the means of 
intellectual advancement nothing to us, tliut we lie thus suj)inely on our 
bucks, with folded hands, without one effort to elevate our moral, social, 
and politit^'al condition^? Let us begin by improving our position as labor- 
ers — let us plan and execute for ourselves, In western Pennsylvania and 
Ohio some of the most extensive farmers are colored men. In Baltimore, 
my own city. I have seen wealthy men among our own people — men who 
bought and sold by thousaifdsi Wc must exert ourselves to accomplish 
something here There is.plenty of land for us to cultivate, but we must 
not delay, for the next year there will come to these Pacific shores tliou- 
lands of men from the old world, and every vacant spot will be taken. 

Mr. David Lewis said : One of the most important things for our present 
consideration is, to obtain the right to be heard upon oath in the courts of 
justice — this is the one thing needful As it is, the law is to us a dead let- 
tor, tt broken staff to lean upon. The oath that should protect life, liberty, 
and property, all that should throw the shield of law around ourselves and 
families, is denied us. Now we have no protection, and stand as nothing. 
"The oath" would make people careful how they act before us. We 
should then have a voice. As it is, we arc scarcely recognized as human 
beings. 

Mr. Ruggles. Tis an injury to the white man as well as to ourselves, to 
deny us the right of being heard under oath. Justice is often checked iu 
her course, and the guilty are suffered to escape because the only witnesses 
to their guilt arc those upon whom the law has cast the stigma of being 
unworthy to be heard. 

Mr. Newljy gave notice that the Business Committee were ready to 
rejwrt, having united both series of resolutions offered at the openiilg of 
this meeting. He hoped this course would put an end to all misunder- 
standing, and secure the approval of all. 

Mr. Stokes was in favor of having tlie report presented immediately, and 
he hoped it would be adopted without further debate, lie offered a motion 
to that effect. 

This was objected to by several. Soiiie discussion followed. Mr. 
Stokes withdrew his motion. 

The Convention, by vote, adjourned to four o'clock, p. m., aTter the 
beneilietion by the Chbplain. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

WfinNEsn.vv, November 21, 1855. 

Convention called to order at four o'clo<'k,- President Yates in the chair. 
The Business Connnittee, l)y their chairman, presented their report, a.^ 
ojlows : 



14 

Whcrcn^, Wo, tbo colored pcoplo of the State of California, believing 
that tlic laws of this State, rolatinp to the testimony of colored people in 
the courts of jnstiec, recorded in 394th section of chapter 3d of an act 
entitled "an act for regulating proceedings in the court practice of the 
courts of this State," as follows : " And persons havivg one-half or more of 
ru<rro blood, shall not be wltnosscftin an action or proceeding to which a 
white person is a party "—to bo unjust in itself, and oppressive to every 
class in the community; that this law was intended to protect wh'.te persons 
from a class whoso intellectual and social condition was supposed to be so 
low as to justify the depriving them of their testimony. 

Antl, whereas, We believe that careful inquiries into our sociil, moral, 
religious, intellectual, and financial condition, will demonstrate Ihat, as a 
clasl, allowing for the disabilities under which wc labor, wo compare favor- 
ably with any class in the community. 

And, tPherean, Wc believe that petitions to the Legislature, to convene 
in January, praying for the abrogation of this law will meet with a favor- 
able response; believing, as we do, that it cannot be sustained on thfi 
ground of sound policy or expediency: 

1 . Resolved, That the laws of evidence in judicial investigations should be 
accommodated to and identical with the laws of the human mind; and, 
therefore, every fact and circumstance having a tendency to throw light 
upon the subject under investigation, should be heard and judged of accord- 
ing to their relative weight and value, and with reference to all the circum- 
stances of credit or discredit connected with them. 

2. Resolved, That past experience has abundantly shown that all attempts 
to establish artificial standards of credibility, depending upon such tests as 
race, color, creed or country, are as unwise as they are unjust; that they 
servo only on the one side to obstruct the investigation of truth by the 
erection of useless barriers, and on the other to defraud the excluded 
classes, while at the same time they subject them in their lives, in their 
persons, and in their property, to outrage and injustice with impunity, from 
the more favored classes. 

3. Resolved, That the true and only tests of credibility in a witness, arc his 
intelligence, integrity, and his disinterestedness; and that, as a race.we arc 
willing to bo sulyect to these tests, to be applied in each Case as it occurs, 
and tliat we ought not to be subject to ony other. 

4. Resolved, That to a class of people^thc right of testimony is as valua- 
ble as the right of self-defense; a right which no generous foe will deny, 
ev^n to an enemy. 

5. Resolved, Tliat all classes, without distinction, are interested in the fd- 
moval of nil barriers as witnesses, imposed upon the African race in Gali- 
fornia, a.iu.iwise, unnecessary for the protection ot the white race, and un. 
just towards the proscribed classes, " as taking that which naught enrich- 
es it, but leaves tliem poor indeed;" that these cIbsscs, in the conscionsnew 
of the injustice done theui in this respect, say with the old Grecian, " Strike, 
but hear me." 

6. Resolved, That we memorialize the Legislature at its approaching bcr- 
sion, to repeal the third and fourth paragraphs of section three hundred 
and ninety four of an Act passed April 20th, 1851, entitled, " An Act to 
regulate proceeding in civil cases, in the Courts of Justice of this State," 
and also for the repeal of section fourteen of an Act entitled " An Act con- 
cerning Crimes nlid Puni.shments," passed April 6th 1850. 

7. Resolved, Tliat a State Executive Committee be appointe*! by the Con- 



15 

vcntioii, with full powers to adopt Huch meo£urcs as uiaj be deemed cxpc 
dient to accomplssh the object iii view. 

No. 8. lUsulval, That yit reccoinmend the organization of a State Araocla- 
tion, with auxiliaries in every county, for the purjiose of collecting statistical 
and other evidenceo of our advancement and j)rosperity; also to encourage 
education, and a correct and proper deportraeut iu our relations towards 
our white fellow citizens and to each other- 
No. 9. Resolcul, That we regret and reprobate the apathyand timidity of a 
portion of our people, in refusing to take part in any public demonstration, 
having for its object the removal of political and other disabilities, by judi- 
cious and conservative action. 

Resolved, That wo reccoramend the creation of a contingent fund of 
twenty thousand dollars, to be controlled by a Committee having discre- 
tionary powers, to enable us to carry forward any measure that has for its 
object the amelioration of our condition- 
On motion of Mr. Anderson, the i:eport of the Committee was rcceiied 
and ado{)tcd by ackmation, amidst much applause. 

H. M. Collins ofifered the followuig resolution, which was also adopted 
without discussion: 

Resolved, That a Committee of five be appointed to araiige as they may 
deem proper, and procure the printing of the proceedings of this Couveu- 
tion, in pamphlet form: 

J B. Sanderson, W. II. Newby, ) 

n. M. Collins, J. G. Wilson, [■ Publishing Committee. 

D. P. Stokes, ) 

Mr. Andersen commenced reading a series of resolutions referring to 
the action of the National Convention of colored people, assembled in Phil- 
adelphia recently, but he was ruled out of order by the President, who de- 
clared that while he presided over the deliberations of the Convention, uo 
extraneous subjects should be brought forward to disturb the harmony of 
its proceedings. They had assembled for one object only, and th^ Conven- 
tion should not swerve from it to debate the expediency of the actions of 
men in Philadelphia. Ijoston or Charleston. The Chair was sustained by 
acclamation. Jj 

On motion of T. M. D. Ward, it was voted " that each delegate shall 
receive five copies of the piinted priui fdings of this Convention, when pub- 
liuhedr. 

This Resolution, offered. by Mr. Townsend, was adopted: 

No. 13. Resolved, That. this Convention appoint a special Committee of 
seven porKoii.»>, to collict stntistics relating to the colort'd people in the State 
( .California; their numbers, capital, &c., and to report upon the same: 



J. n. Townsend, E. P. Duplex,, 

Cbas. H. McDougall, II. M. Collins, 

J. H, Morris, A. W. Gibbs, 
J. Q. Starkey. 



Committee on 
Statistics. 



The following resolutions were adopted : 

No. 13. Resolval, That the thanks of this Convention be extended to 
the Editors of the " Sacramento Daily State Tribune," " Democratic State 
J ournal," und " Sacramento Daily Union." Also to the reporters coonected 



16 

therewith, for the liberal and courteous inauner in which they have reported 
and published the proceediugs of this Convention. 

No. 14. Resolved, That a Committee of five be appointed to prepare an 
Address to the colorxjd people of this State, calling their attention^ to the 
importance of the mining and agricultural interests, as a means of improv- 
ing and elevating their condition. 

No. 13 was offered by W. H. Newby. 

No. 14 was offered by Geo> W. Booth. 

Under resolution No. 14, Geo. W. Booth, A. J.RWhitc, Geo. A. Du- 
vall, A. Vaniel, D. Mahoney, were appointed to prepare an Address. 

On motion of T. M. D. Ward, a vote was passed to assess each member 
of the Convention the sum of $2 50, to defray the expenses of the Con- 
vention. 

Mr. J. D. Gilliard offered resolution No. 15. 

Iletolved, Tliat this Convention appoints persons in each County, to cir- 
culate petitions, and procure signatures to the same, for memoriulizing tho 
Legislature for the repeal of the law which excludes the testiniuny of col- 
ored peoi)le in courts of iustice, in an action or proceeding to which a 
white person is a party. 

The following gentlemen were appointed to circulate petitions for signa- 
tures in the Counties in wbith they reside : 

J. H. Towusend, San Francisco ; J. G. Wilson, Sacramento ; John 
Galley, El Dorado ; Fielding Smitiiea, Alameda ; E. P. Duulcx, Yuba.; 
W. 1). Moses, Santa Clara ; John H. Morris, Tuolumne ; Albert Vaniel, 
Sierra ; Dennis Carter, Nevada ; Jeremiah King, San Joaquin ; Shadrack 
Howard, Amador ; Benjamin Young, Shasta ; Edward Hatton, Nupa ; 
William Johnson, Plumas ; J. J. Underwood, Placer ; George W. :Miller, 
Sonoma ; Thomas Rix, Los Angeles ; Mr. Brooks, Calaveras ; Joseph Pin- 
dall. Trinity ; Newport F. Henry, Mariposa ; A. W Hernandez, Butte ; 
Samuel Kunee, Siskiyou ; Isaac Johnson, Solano. 

No. 16. Resolved, That a Committee of two be appointed toprcpar^an 
Address to the colored people of this State, urging upon them the import- 
ance of sending their children to school whenever it is practicable. 

It was adopted, and J. J. Moore and T, M. D. Ward were appointed to 
prepare the Address. 

W. H. Newby, chairman of the Business Committee, read a draft of tlic 
form of the Petition to be preseuted to ihcJLcgislature, in accordance with 
Resolution No. 6, as follows : 

To the Honorable the Senate, and House of Representatives of the State of 
Caalifornia : 

We, the undersigned petitioners, most humbly pray your honorable bod- 
ies to repeal the third and fourth paragraph.s of Section 394, of an Act 
passed April 29th, 1851, entitled, "An Act to regulate proceedings in 
civil cases in the courts of justice in this State." 

Also to repeal Section fourteenth of an Act, entitled, "An Act con- 
cerning Crimes and Punishments,'' passed 'April 16th, 18.30. 

The form was approved and adopted. 

Resolution No. 17, presented by J. H. Townsend, was passed. 

No. n. Resolved, That we appoint a State Executive Committee, of 
ten persons, who shall reside at San Francisco, Sacrament^ and Marysville. 
They bhaall act in conjjinctiou with the State Central Committee, and bball be 



17 

t]ic medium of communicatian between this Convention and the Legislature. 

Messrs. J. H, Townscnd, H. M. Collins, M, W. Gibbs, Peter Anderson, 
San Francisco. J. B. Sanderson, Emory Waters, Thomas Better, George W. 
Booth, Sacramento. E. P. Duplex, Geo. Simms, Maryaville — State Execu- 
tive Committee appointed under resolution No. It. 

Convontion adjuurncd until Thursday, at ton o'clock, A. M., with benedio- 
tion by the chaplain. 



THIRD DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. 

Thursday Morning, Not. 22d. 

Meeting called to order at 10|[ o'clock. President .Yates in the Chair. 

The Chaplain reail the 85th Psalm, and offered prayer. 

MinntcR of yestoniay'.s proceedings rend and apjiroved. 

President Yates made a few remarks, prefatory to the business of the 
(lay. " I desire," s;iid he, " that members will not cuter iuto lengthy and 
needless discussions upon every question regarding which there may be a 
difference of opinion, but confine themselves strictly to the legitimate busi- 
ness of the meeting, so that the Convention muy be enabled to close its pro- 
ceedings to-day, and do so in such a manner us to reflect credit upon our- 
selves and the cause we advocate." 

Mr. Newby, Chairman of the Business Committee, offered Rcsoluion 

No. 18. Resolved, That the Chairman of the Finance Committee, be au- 
thorized to procure a suitable testimonial, to present to E. K. Knight, Esq. 
reporter of the " Sacramento Daily Tribune," for his full and impt^rtial re- 
ports of the proceedings of this Convention. 

Mr. Ncwby said : " In holding this Convention in Sacramento, we ex- 
pected to meet opposition, because we are not understood even by many 
well-informed persons. Evil reports are so often circulated about us ; these 
stir up and bring out the prejudice which exists against us, .meeting ns 
whichever way we turn. In our deliberations we seek publicity ; we court 
investigation ; the object we are laboring for, is worthy ; the means we 
take to secure it, discussion, peaceful agitation, the presentation of facts 
and arguments, are such as must commend themselves to intelligent and 
rijrht-thinking men. The press is the great instructer and mover of the 
public mind. Had the press of this city l)een unfriendly or prejudiced 
again.st us, it might have stirred an opposition, thrown obstacles in our 
wn,y that had prevented the holding of this Convention ; but the Sacra- 
mento city press has treated us with respect and fairness, and we are 
thankful to all those gentlemen wlio control, and are connected with it. 
Wo liave been plea.sed to see gentlemen reporting our doings ; all we de- 
sired was that they would " naught extenuate or aught set down in malice;" 
tlie reports of Mr. Knight have been fair, liberal, and unusually elabor- 
ate. In proposing this testimonial, we are as far from intimating any re* 



18 

ward of his sorvices, as he woald bo from receiviDg it in that light as of 
that motive. We beg ita acceptance, as a slight t«stimoniul of our appre- 
ciation of his gentlemanly and faithful report of us. " Fair play is a 
jewel r* 

The Resolution was adopted. 

J: H. Townsend, cbarirman of Committee appointed under resolution 
No. 13, reported the following statistics of the colored population and 
their wealth: 

Your Committee beg leave to state that the amounts set against the 
several counties is invested in various branches of business, real estate, 
raining, etc., but agriculture is the most prominent. They also beg leave 
to state tliat the colored residents of California are in proportion to their 
numbers, the least recipients of public charity of any class in the State; 
and this too, notwithstanding they are subject to great disabilities, and are 
entirely destitute of any protection in their persons or^)ropeVty from the l|i.w8 
of the land, which they regard as clear proof of their capacity to take 
care of their famihes for the present, and to provide for their future. 

POPULATION. WEALTH. 

Alameda 60 $50,000 

Amador 100 25,000 

El Dorado 1,000 350,000 

Nevada ..•.-. 400 250,000 

Calaveras 250 100,000 

Los Angeles 60 70,000 

Tuolumne 200 73,000 

Shasta 100 150,000 

Santa Clara ..... 60 40,000 

Sacramento 500 250,000 

Sdn Francisco 1,500 750,000 

Monterey 60 45,000 

Yuba 600 -200,000 

Trinity 65 20,000 

San Joaquin 400 40,000 

Total 4,815 . $2,413,000 

William J. Hardin said: 

" I beg leave to call the attention of the House to the fact that the 

amount, millions, set down by the Committe as the probable wealth 

of the colored population of this State, in addition to immense sums whicli 
liave been, from time to time, paid to their (Twuers by ike colored mou who 
have come here as slaves, and who, by a course of honest iudustry, hare 
paid for and obtained their freedom. I adduce this as onother evidence of 
the capability and enterprise of our race." 

Rev. J. Moore: There is an expression in the report which I think ibooid 
be corrected. It is this: "That we are entirely destitute of any proteotioa 
in person and property by tlie laws of the land." This is icorrect, in mtmt 
degree. And while wc are stating our grievances, let us endeavor to do 
so in a spirit of thankfulness for all the favors shown us, and acknowledfc 
«very obligation we ape under; but, above all, let us do so with troth. I, 
therefore, move au amendment to the report, so that it may read ibM:" 



19 

•'That wo do uot receive full protection of the law, in commoD with the 
white man," 

Mr. Townsend : I tU-ny that the pitiful support which the law offers 
can bo called a prottdion. Are we beard before the bar of justice ? Are 
we recognized as haviiij,' souls, and comprehending the nature and respon- 
sibilitj of an oath ? 'Tis but a few months since a negro was stabbed in 
the streets of San Francisco, in the presence of twenty witnesses. The 
murderer was a Spanish man, he was arrcstv d, and discharged on bail. On 
the day of his trial his counsel ridicnled the idea of his being punished, 
and said he had " only killed a niggtfirviho attempted to strike him down." 
What was the result ? Tb9 murderer wa« cleared, and in a few hours he 
was walking the streets openly. Ther« is indeed a semblance of protection, 
but it is not real," 

Mr, Wilson asked for another reading of the report; it was again read 
Further debate ensued. 

Mr. Anderson moved to re-commit the Report to the Committee, with 
instructious to amend, as proposed by Mr, Moore. 

This motion was not sustained. 

Mr. Stokes. — I have listened to the Report as read, and believe it to be 
true in every particular. If I have a claim of $100 against a white man, 
and bring an action for its recovery at law, unless I have a wbite man who 
possesses the yoral courage to come forward and endnre the odium of a mis- 
constructed society, and testify in my behalf, I lose my suit, and am scarce- 
ly exempt from the indignity of being kicked out of ^onrt. 

If a man cannot swear to a plain, honest, simple accoont, where- is the 
protection of law ? There is none ! — 'tis but a shadow and a name. 

Mr. Carter said he understood the Report under diScussion to be merely 
a recapitulation of the preamble and resolves, and entirely unnecessary, 
and hoped it would not be adopted. 

Mr. McDougall moved that the Report be referred back to tbo Commit- 
tee, with instructions to report as soon as possible. 

Mr, McDougall's motion was adopted. 

Rev. T. M. D. Ward offered the following preamble and resolution. 

Wheacas, We regard the sin of intemperance a crying evil, a public ca- 
lamity, a checkio the religious, social, mental and financial advancement 
of the colored people of this State; therefore 

Resolved, That we reccommend to our people the concentration of every 
moral and intellectual effort for the complete removal of this eryiaig etil 
from among us. 

The resolution was sustained by the offerer in<a forcible ^ech. He said, 
in offering it, he did not expect the support of gentlemen who wer* iir the 
habit of washing down the cotton in their throats every morning with a 
cocktail, but they see daily too much evidence of the evils of intemperance 
not to act upon .the matter in some way. We have met to propose plans 
for the improvement of our people, it is proper that we should give expres- 
sion to our opinions upon the subject so important to us. Some of the 
ablest and most talented of our young men, possessing qualities and attain- 
anents that would render them capable of doing an incalculable amount of 
good for themselves ,and others — are the subjects of intemperance — their 
influence for good is lost. While this is the case we should speak out; we 
should unite all our efforts against this great evil. 

The Chair, though a warm supporter of the proposition of Mr, Ward, 
considered it out of order, as the Convention had decided to keep oat all 



20 

extrftneou3 matter, and npon that ground they had decided to act npon the 
school (jiiestioii. The temperance question is extraneous matter, and must 
be ruled out ; bat the Convention could appeal from his decision if they 
desired to, and he should not deem it discourteous to him if he was over- 
ruled. 

Mr. Collins moved a suspension of the rules to consider the resolution. 
The motion was lost, and the Convention refused to suspend the rules by 
the followinjr vote : Ayes, 20 ; nays. 17. Two-thirds being required to 
suspend, the Resolution was ruled out of order. 

Mr. Gibbs offered the foHowing, which was adopted : 
No. 20. Resolved, That the Secretary of this Convention receive pledges 
from each member of vthis Convention,, that they will use theit^bcst. en- 
deavors to raise from their constituents a specific portion of the $20,000 
which, by vote of the Convention, is to constitute the Contingent Fund to bo 
used for the carrying out the objects of this Convention, as follows : 

We, the undersigned, do pledge ourselves to raise so much of the Coutin- 
gent Fund as is set against our names. 

Mr. Gibbs said in support of this Resolution : " The creation of this fund, 
will give assurance that we are in earnest ; something may be left to the 
humanity and philanthropy of men, in presenting our cahse to the pnbUc ; 
but we must have money ; it is one of the most essential aids in carrying 
out the objects in view, ' the sinews of war ;' and ve shall have occasion 
to use in various ways, all we can raise. When we return to our constitu- 
encies, let us not sit down upon the stool of do-nothing, but exert every 
effort to inform and influence those with whom wc may come in contact, iu 
public and in private ; I am under the necessity of taking leave of the Con- 
vention. 

I congratulate you, gentlemen, upon your success in conducting the proceed- 
ings of the Convention ; good order has been ob.served, good feelings have 
been exercised one towards the other. Bodies of men rarely meet and delil>- 
erate, without some confusion. Even in the halls of legislation at Wa.«;hing- 
ton, scenes of confusion and di.sorucr are sometimes witnessed, among mt-n 
who hojVe reputations for refinement and learning. It was feared we could not 
meet and deliberate two or three days, in an orderly manner. In future, 
should we meet to counsel fur our common good, may similar success attend 
Our efforts. 

Mr. Cornish indorsed the resolution, and expressed the pleasure he experi- 
enced at the good feeling and harmony that had characterized the proceedings 
of the Convention. The chair here requested Rev. Mr. Stokes to seat himself 
on an opposite side of the room, aa while two preachers were seated together 
he never could keep order. The request was complied with, amidst much 
laughter. 

Pledges were made by the following gentlemen, in behalf of the counties 
they represent. 

San Francisco, H. M. Collins, - - . $1,250 

Sacramento, J. G. Wilson, - - . . 600 

Nevada, Dennis Carter, .... 500 

Yuba, Isaac Triplett, - - - « . r)00 

El Dorado, Joseph Smallwood, - - - 1,200 

Butie, Isaac Triplett, - - - . - 150 

Alameda and Contra Costa, Fielding Smithea, - 200 

Santa Clara an'& Santa Cruz, W. D. Moses, - - 200 

Sierra, Albert Vaniel, ..... 200 



21 

Tuolnrano, John IT. Morris, 500 

Sun Joaquin, Jeremiah King, 150 



Total, $5,460 

Mr. Phelps proposed rcsolutfon 

No. 21. Jiesolvcd, That a Committee of t/ireehe appointed to report be- 
fore the c-loso of this Convention, upon the propriety of establtshing a pa- 
per for the u.sc ami benefit of the colored people of this State. 

lA-dopted, and Messrs. E. R. Phelps, W. II. Newby, and D. P. Stokes, 
were ajtpointed the Committee. 

On motion of }lr. Gilliard, it was voted that this Convention adjourn 
sine die, this evening:, at six o'cloek. 

Mr. C. II. McDou^all offered resolution No. 22, propo.sing the establish- 
ing o^a banking-house by colored men, in this State. 

Mr. J. II. Morris said : " Mr. President, I am opposed to tlie passage 
of this resolution. Does the Convention propose to take care of the whole 
political, moral, social, and financial interests of the colored people of this 
State ? I think not. Let us, then, leave the question of establishing 
banks. We have already undertaken herculean labors. Let us resolve 
less, but do more Besides, we have not forgotten the exi)erience of the 
l)ast year. Can we expect to succeed in banking oi)erations, where so many 
have failed ? Tiiere is a prevailing sentiment of hostility against banks, 
tliroughout the State. Nor can we hope to bring a greater amount of cap- 
ital, experience, and business capacity, to the sustentation and management 
of the projmsed scheme, than have been employed to carry on other insti- 
tutions of the kind, but which have nevertheless failed. Mr. President,, I 
hope the proposition will be voted down, and that we shall have no more 
of the visionary and impracticable scheme." 

Mr. McDongail said : "There are many in the State who will not do- 
posit their money in the banks already established. But why should wo 
not form l)nnking institutions amonaf ourselves ? We have men of means, 
of good business abilities and integrity. We need confidence in each other. 
This would be an cfToctive means of building ourselves up as'a people, and 
securing the respect and consideration of the public. There must be a 
commencement of effort in this direction. My wish is to call attention to 
the subject, but as the resolution meets with such decided opposition, by 
leave of the Convention I will withdraw it. 

The Resolution waa withdrawn. The Convention then adjourned until 4 
o'clock, P. M. 



THURSDAY AFTERNOON SESSION. 

Met at 4 o'clock. President in the Chair. 

Vinance Committee presented a Report oi ilic lurnnnt collected to 



22 

ilcfray the expenses of llie Convention, $158,75 ; expenses for sta- 
tioimrj, books and light, $12,00 ; balance in hand, $146,75. 

Finunte Cammitlec.— J.J . Moore, Emory Waters. D. W. Ruggles. 

Tlic Report of the Committee was adopted. 

Mr. William Quinii moved, tlnit thf Secretary prepare and send the pro- 
ceedings of tliis Conveotiou to the "Liberator," and '' Douglass^ Paper,'* 
for publication. This mblion was not sustained. 

On motion of T. M. D. Ward, it was voted that each delegate be fur- 
nished with five copies of the proceedings of the Convention wlieu printed. 

Tlio next llc.<!olutiou was as follows : 

No. 22. Resnlced, That the Publication Committee be autliori/ed to have 
5,000 copies of the j)roceeding3 of this Convention printed in pamphlet 
form, to be placed in the hands of the State Central Committee — the dele- 
gates having received their quota — to be disposed of, and the prbceeds put 
into the general fund. 

No. 23. Resolved, That the Finance Committee be authorized to pay 
over to the Puljlishing Committee the sum of $100, towards publishing the 
proceedings as above, were presented by Mr. Townsend, and unanimously 
ad9])ted. 

Mr. E. A. Phelps, Chairman of the Committee appninted to report upon 
the propriety of establishing a printing press, read Committee's Report. 

Your Committee, who were charged with the duty of reporting on tlie 
subject of a press, beg leave to say, that after giving the sulyect earnest con- 
sideration, they would earnestly recommend the estul)lishing of a press, for 
the use and benefit of the colored people resident in California. 

The time allotted your Committee was too short to admit of their obtain- 
ing the information necessary to enaljle them to arrange, and report, the 
details of a plan for carrying out this proposal. They would respectfully 
recommend the appointment of another Committee from this Convention, to 
ascertain tlie probable cost of a press, with its aj)purtenances, and the 
mode by whitli it can be sustained, and report the same to the State Cen- 
tral Committee, who might be charged with the responsibility, if practicable, 
of carrying the plan into operation. And to this end, the Committee HJiiill 
be antliorizL'd to tall meetings, and lay this subject before onr people, in 
the various counties of the State, collect means, and adopt such plans as 
they may deem necessary for its success. Respectfully snljiiiitted. 

E. R. Phelps, ) 
D. P, Stokes, >- Committee. 
W. Newby, ) 

Tho report was ailoptcd, and the Committee discliarged. 

llcsoiiiiioi 23, presented by Mr. Townsend, was adopted without discus- 
sion, as lolluus : 

jSo. 23. Rcsolvctl, That the State Centrtil Committee, be authorized to 
prepare and puldish an address, to the citizens at large of this State, set- 
ting forth the true character and position of the colored people of California. 

Mr. Newby offered Resc)lution 

No. 24. Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be tendered Wil- 
liam II Yates, Esq., for the ellieient, dignified, and impartial manner in 
which he has presided over its deliberations. 

It was adopted by acclamation, and in responding to it, Mr. Yates re- 
marked ihat he duly ap{)reciated the high compliment conferred uj)on him 
by the members of the Convention, in thus expressing, in so emphatic a 
manner, their thanks. In presiding over their deliberations, he had sought 



23 

to act fairly towards all, and If he had not done so, he cxceedinprly rctrret 
ted it. One tliinc^ he desired to call their attention to, pnrticuiarly aa he 
had been KjMjkeii to by several p^entleraen present ''pon the subject. 

In tlic published report of tl)C few remarks he offered on Tuesday, he 
was made to say — "wliilo I acknowlcdgfe in form, appearance and education, 
the African cannot compete with the Caucasian race," kc. It should have 
been — " he w unable under existing circumstances to comi)cte with the Cau- 
casian race," Sec. This is what he sai(l and meant: " I do not admit that 
the African could not compete with any nation, if he is allowed the same 
opportunities. The colored people have much to contend against in the 
present aj^e, but by pursuing a i>roper course could overcome much of it. 
It has been said that, in holding tlis Convention — in seeking to change 
the law by asking for the right of testimony on the same terms with our 
white fellow-citizens — we arc presumptuous. Wo ask for no social con- 
cessions or privileges, but say 'hands off,' and do not depress us; we only 
desire a removal of a special grievance. The granting of our petition will 
bless 'him that gives, and him that takes.' AVe believe the American heart 
in Northern or Southern men, is too noble and generous to turn a deaf ear 
to our request, couched as it is in raaidy aud respectful terms. We arc 
Americans; this is our country and our home; we know no other. Who 
will question onr love of country ? We say to our white fellow-citizens, 
in spite of all the evils which surround us, from the East, the West, the 
North, and the South, we are with yon. Where does the white man go 
that the black docs not ? If to the battle field, in conquering lands, the 
black is found at his side; if not with a sword, he has a soup-ladle to feed 
them while they fight. I a'm no orator, l)ut a simple laborer, working 
hard and honestly for my daily living, yet have a love for liberty that can- 
not be repressed, as it has grown in me for years. I believe this Conven- 
tion has accomplished much good, for it has awakened an interest in the 
minds of all, and much good must eventually grow out of it. Let «s be 
united, let us cherish a brotherly regard for each other, and we cannot fail 
to obtain at length that which we seek." 

The following resolutions were unanimously adopted as they were pre- 
sented, in the following order: 

No. 25. Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be tendered 
Messrs. Vaniel, Carter, "Smallwood, and Smithea, for their services as Vice 
I're.sidents of this Convention. 

No. 20. Resolved, That thanks bo presented Messrs. J. B. Sanderson, 
J. II. Morris, and F. G. Barbadoes,_ Secretaries. 

No. 27. A resolution of thanks to Messrs. John Butler and William 
Queen, door-keepers. 

No. 28. Resolved, That in consideration of the extra labor required in the 
preparation of the proceedings of this Convention for publication, the Fi- 
nance Committee be ordered to pay J. B. Sanderson the hum of $25. 

No. 2D. Resolved, That the Trca.surer of the State Executive Committee, 
who is to hold the funds collected b^ order of this Convontion, be required 
to give bonds in the sum of 810,000, fur the faithful discharge of his duty. 

Kcslution No. 25, offered by D. Stokes. 

Kcsolutions No. 20 and 28 by J. Francis. 

Resolution No. 27 offered by C. II. McDougall. 

Hesolution 29 offered by W. II. Ncwby. 

The Chairman of the Business Committee, Mr. Ncwby, read the ncxtllcbolu- 
tioD, 



24 

No. 30, Resolved, That the Business Committee arc richly entitled to the 
thanks of the members of this Convention, and all who have been present 
upon its sessions, for their faithful, intelligent and successful labors, in pre- 
paring the business, aiid promoting the objects of the Convention. 

Mr. Ncwbv said : "This Resolution was placed in the hands of the Busi- 
ness Committee by Mrs. Alfred J. Wiiitc, a lady from Tuoluuiue County. — 
It is all the more grateful to the feelings of the comuiittee vm an expnssion of 
satisfaction with their efforts to serve you — as coming from a lady ; where the 
ladies are with us, ard approve, wo arc satisfied that we arc right ; it is an 
earnest of success. 

"In behalf of the committee, I return our acknowledgments to Mrs. White. 
It is my misfortune to be a bachelor ; and unfortunately for me, also, the lady 
who proposed this resolution is a married lady, or I should be tempted to haz- 
ard the expression, of not only my gratefulness to, but also my admiration of, 
her, in other circum.stanecs." 

llesolution No 30 was adopted amid applause. 

Some inquiries were made by delegates in regard to communicating with 
each other, and promoting the objects of the Ccyivention. 

k was suggested that delegates should call meetings in the counties and 
towns i^f their residence, form local organizations, appoint connnittccs, eolluet 
fuffds, circulate petitions, and keep up a correspondence with the State Exec- 
utive Committee. 

Six o'clock. P. M., having arrived, the choir attached to the church, hy 
request, suiig an Anthem, selecting 

"The Earth is tho LonV?, 
Ami the fullness thi-reof." 

The Chaplain pronounced the Benediction, and the President declared the 
Convention adjourned sine die. 

SOTK.— In rlndinR \hrw minuter, I t.ike orc»«ioti to RcknowUdjt'' my oMieati'HiK to II"- ."■irrninento 
"Daily Tiit.iini- "' >lucli i.f lli«> time <Ikv"' i.r<>cveilip)i> of tl\e ('(invcnti'.n were piililiKlu-.l iil llial 
twiwr I DrcMTTOd the; tiiiiiu-, aii'l deiiveil valualjlu asaistanco froiD lliuiii in pi^iium^: ili" f<«ri({iiiii>; 
\^^,„ 1. It t AN1>K1C>0.\. 

The CoMimittce, appointed under resolution No. 10, present the tollowing 
to the parents aud guardians of colored cliildieu iu Caliroruia: 

AI>DRESS. 

" Knowledge is power," said Bacon, one of England's wisest sons. The 
truth of this aiiotlicgni, history and common experience al)unduntly prove. 
No people have l)ecome truly illustrious, great and jjowerful, who iii<l not 
make learning the snlijeet of especial attention. 

As of nations, so of communities and individuals. Knowledge give.s to 
its possessors a power and a superiority over the uncultivated, real uiul 
substantial. The ignorant must give pjace and yield to the intelligent aud 
educated; it is a law growing out of the nature of things. 

As a class, the colored jieople have to a great e.\tent been deprived of 
the advantages of education, the means aud 0})portunilie.s of iutellectudl 
rulture, and it ill hocoines those' who liave (lp})rived thein of those blessin/s, 
where tiiey had tlie jiower, and in other oirc l^^^tances have thrown obsta- 
cles in the way of their improvement, to taunt them with being ignorant. 

But the condition of tilings ure (;haiiging; public sentiment, laws, slowly 
bat surely. Educated men better understand, and are coming to acknowl- 
edge aud teach the absolute necessity of obeying the laws of man's Intel 



25 

Icctual, r oral and social natnrc; by this, wc mcnn that man is the subject 
of in^ '.icctual, moral y,nd physical laws; we cannot Ijrcak and trample ujwa 
th< without produciiij^ suffering and wretchedness. 

ocietifS are subject to the same laws; their peace, pood order and 
;ty depend upon obedience to these laws. Society cannot neglect, hate, 
;iijuse and oppress a class, a part, without suffering itself ; the indulgence 
of evil passions, the practice of bad conduct, re-act backward and forward; 
ignorance vice, crime and suffering abound, and society is the Sufferer; in- 
telligent men see this clearly; they regard the education of youth one of 
the lirst and most important (luties society owes itself; give good instruc- 
tion to the young aiul withhold not. 

True intellectual culture gives to men power over themselves, opens a 
knowledge of the laws of life, disposes them to respect the rights of all 
and to the practice of justice and virtue. 

Dear friends, we arc living .in an age when, and in a country where the 
liglit of knowledge is spreading, is abounding more and more, stimulating 
activity in the arts, in science, philosophy and general literature. j\o •- 
people, we are ia the midst of these activities, having a commf^r. iuterest in 
tlieir results. 

Wc arc engaged in a great work; it is this, wc aim to render ourselves 
e<|ual with the most favored, not simply nominally equal, but truly and 
pnu-'tieally, in knowlrdge, energy, practical skill and enterprise. The past 
has l)een to us full of wrong and suffering; we are not content with our 
present conditiou; it remains ior na to say whether we will continue iu this 
|)0-ilion. 

Under f lod, our dependence is in our children. As parcrts and guardians, 
wo are under the most solemn obligations to have our children educated ; upon 
•my other eomlitioos, our hopes and expectations of the future are vain. It 
eannot be denied, ignorance has been the cause, chiefly, of our sufferings. Wo 
must .seize upon every opportunity to acquire knowledge, to educate the hcail, 
the hands, the heart, for the duties, necessities and responsibilities of life. It 
is true th(> State shoidd \ rovidc schools and instructiou for our children, but 
.-lie excludes colored children from her public schools. In (uc locality only 
in tlic State — San Francisco — a school is estabh.shod for colored children, 
which is sustained by the liberality of that city's government. 

The uuiiiUr of our children is rapidly increa.sing. In these circunistau- 
ces, left to provide for ourselves, wc nmst Ik; all the more determined to do 
iiur duty — sacrifice something too of personal ease and comfort for the sake ot 
L'iving your ehildren schooling, wherever it is practicable. When our charac- 
tiTs, as a people, shall fully combine the elements of learning, .«ound morality, 
:iiid wealth, wc shall ]to free and respected by all. 

J. J.. Moore, \ Cnmynittoe 
T. M D. Wanl, S ^'^'""''"'^• 

Hki'ort of the Connnittee appointed to address the Colored Citizoiw of CaTi- 

foniia, upon tlu; subjects of Agriculture and Mining, and the importance of 

turning their attention to them : t 

BRETURrN : In discharging the duty of addressing you upon these great 
branches of industry, it is our wi.-h to call your attention to reflect carefully 
upnii them, that a lively interest :: ay be awakened. 

The agrieultural and mining interests of California are rich and fruitful 
iluiiies; lleavtn has indeed b.-en bounteous in heaiiing blcs.^ngs ui>on our 
Si.iie. The ap|ilieatiou of intelligent ::kill and industry, iu developing its 
ikIkv-, will niak(. it a i>ceoud Edcu. 



26 

III till- nij'itl view we >liall l;i!<0 nt tllr >lll'|r«-t nt A;,'ricllllurr V.f c.ll' null, 

toiif/i ;i I'^'W iiini'irtaiit jmints, iiuilc your attcutinu to tli.- MilijrcL ;x.iu'rall;, . in 
ilir liupo you may Ikcojik! familiar with tin- .-tafi>ti(- ami the jMaiticc ni' ilii 
I'lir.Miit. l''act.> arc altumlant, ii"\n<; to prow lliat a^^ricultiirc, asai.ni nil, i 
t' r<iad to wcaltli, \un\iiv ami imlo]i('ii(l'nce; ;lif time lias cninc wlici uc iiiu>i 
bccoiiio owners ami cultivators of the lanJ. Tlic mortifyiii;: fact is ev( r l)t-fon' 
us that coloroil penjilo, in thf free Ptatr\s especially, an- ratlier tho cousumcrs 
than the producers ol' the wealth of the soil. 

The atlvaut;i^'es hold out by flic Coueral riovomnK^nt, as re;,'arils the set- 
tlement of the public domain, constitute a chcerinir and eiic();ira;;;in;:; fact. It 
lia:J been said, "that wo cannot settle upon and become po-.-e-scirs of tlie public 
lands upon those terms held forth by the (loncral (luvrnmcnt." Wo have 
takcu pains to ascertain the facts upon this point, and W(> are j)roud to inform 
you that wc can fmd no facts poing to show that w« may not settle ujion and 
lawfully possess portions of tjovernnient lands. \Vo wnuM re.-^fiectfully iiriri; 
you to UM^ all lawful means to .H'cure for ynurselves ri^^lit and just claims to 
the ownership of tln,> soil, as a m-'ans to uscAilnr.s^, v-pcctalility and wealth. 

We would brictly invito your attention to the niitiinj^-- Im-incs:. in Califur 
Ilia, Miiiinu', like u<rricultnral jmr.'^uits, jrivcs tlio.-e cii-a-cd in it, a more 
-^ionoral)le position tliaii menial service. 

The icolil mines of this Slate must continue for years the source of al- 
most unacoountaiile wealth. These areopcu to all; none who are rc-jiect- 
able, honest and iudustrious, liro e.xi'ludc'l tlierefroiii. 

The tide of emmigration continues to]»our its thmisands upon our shores. 
The time may come when wo shall re<rret that wo allowed the golden <ip- 
|)ortunitics to l)C lost, llundred.s of thousands of acres o!' iniiicn! Iand'< 
MOW unoccupied, in u few years will be worth fortimes, will be .-uii-Iit af 
Ler. l)Ut not o!jtaincd. 

Wc have irreat liope.> in the dcveloiiimr and increasir ■ 'i' iJijiiM-r, » in r 
;,'y and eiiterpri.<c of our poojile. We iiru'<' you auaiii, ;. •] m;.; iiiuiti's «.,'- 
for, eiiLrairc in a;rriculture and minin;^; huiiorable ri'iploymi its. ilny wii! 
promote our l>est interists. 

(J.M)r;re W I'.ooth, 

.Vlfred .1. Whit.-. 

(icor^^c .V. l):ival!. ('nmmil li e. 

Alltert. Vaui.'i, 

Daiiivl M.ii.uii'.y. 

Thr I'lljovviii;/ Addri'ss was" prepare d liy •!. )l. Tnu mm i.d, m 'ulial! "i 

III' State Iv\'( utive Committee : 

ADDUKSS 

'I'lie eolorcd eiii/eiis of this Commonu. ::Iiii, umilil re.-p!irilMlly m pre-t nt 
l)el'oi"e you, tiieir .vtate and eondilTou, and Iji-y ic.-jk 'Miilly a>!; a ei.ii.l'i 
and careful investiiration of facts in relatidii t(j their true elmra' lei- 

Our population iinin'iei-s about ('(.OOii person-, who i)\\;i cnpit^il to the 
amount of new s:;,()(l(l,i|(lii This iii<s liein aeenniiilated liy mw own iiidii>- 
Iry, siiieo we miirratcd to the slioies ol I III- raeille. 

Mo^t of ns were born iipmi your -nil ; r« ared iij) iiiitler the inlluence of 
your in.^ilitiilinii.- ; bieume lamili.ir wilii your iiianiieis ami cii>t<wiis ; ae- 
ijUired liHvI of your lialiil.^ and adopled your pojii-ies. W'l- yield alli .- 
auee lo no oilu r eoimtry .>.i\c liii.-^. Willi all lit r laiill.-. wc Love inr :li!l 

Our for' !..tliers wef aiiioinr tin iir^t w:'o ihi.k mi ant!, and foiii.')ii sii.' 



27 

1 y -idi' Willi yoiir^ : poured out tlioir hlooil Iroily in tlic •^tniiTL'li' f'of Aiii'T- 
ii-iui iiMli'pcmlciii'c. Tiny lomrlit, !is llicy liml every .-r«'a>fmi to suppose, tlir 
•"•Odd HirJit, of lilMTly, iiMlil it liiiiilly tfiuitiplied 

III the \v;ir oi' l^I'i, ill uliii'li you iHliirved inidependeiice :iiid L'iorv ii])0!i 
the seas, tin; colored nun, wi're ;iI>o uiuoiiir the roreiuo>t lo ciiu'.Vf'iu lie' 
eoiidiel, reii«leriii>: eliicit.-hl serviee in licliall' uf tlieir eoiluiiou conutrv. 
'I'liroiiL^h ii louiT scries of years liave we been ulwiiys readv to lay down our 
lives lor tlie eoiuiuoii weal, in ilefeuse of the iiatioinl lK)iior. ()u the oilier 
liMii.l, iii>tead o|' triatiiiu' us iis LTood and loyal eili/.eids, ydu- liavi Vreated n> 
as aliens ; >oiiLriil to i|e;,nMde ns ju nil the walks of life : pro<enl)ed us in 
i'hureli and Slate as an i^noraiit ;iiid de')a-<ed ehi-s, iinworthv t lie syitipat h\ 
and re^Mrd of nn n ; without exaiuiniiiir into our true eharaeier, you have 
allowed yuurselv.'> to heeouic liiUerly ]irejudieed aLT.iiii-t ii-. \\'lien we 
have spoken of tin' wroiii''^ iiillii'leil up(jn u<, you have turned a deaf ear to 
our representation- and eiilri'iities, or .-purneil ii> from you. 

Wo auMiii call upon you to re.Liard our I'uuditioii in the State of r'alifor- 
iiiu. We point with pridf to tlie^ general <haraeter we maiutaiii in your 
jiiiilst, for inteLTily, indu-lry. and thrift. You have been wont to luulliply 
our vices, and never to see our virtues Von call upc)n us to pay euorinoiis 
ta.xes to support (iovernnicnt, at the same time you deiiv us the proteetion 
you extend to others ; th'' seeuriiy for life and property. Vou recjuire u^ 
to be ;rood eiti/eiis, while -cekin^ to de^zradi- ii-. Vou asK why we :ire not 
more intelli^int "' Vou r.-crjve our money to ediieate your children, and 
then refuse to admit our < hildreii inio ihc c()ininoii .-schools. Vou have 
enacted a law, exeludiii.i:' our lestiimniy in the Courts of justice of this Stati-, 
in ca.ses of jtroceedin^> wlnreiii white per.^oiis are parties ; thus openlv eii- 
cnurajrin;^ and count ••nainiiiL'' the vicious and dishonest to take advantat'^e 
of us ; a law, which, while it (U><< not advanta;rc you, is a irreat wroii^;' to 
1.-. At the same lime, you freely admit the evidence of men in voiir midst, 
who are iL''iif»rnnt of ijie first i»rinciiiles of your (lovernnient -who know 
not the alpliaiiet. Many I'olored men, whohave been educated in voiirlir.-t 
colle;:es,are not allowed totijstify ! and wherefore'!' our Oivine Fatlier li;is 
created ih with a darker complexion. 

I'eoplo of California ! we entriat you to repeal that unjust law. We 
ask it in the name of humanity, in the eiilii^liteiied aire in which wc live, Ik- 
caiisc of the odium it rellects upmi yiu as a free and powerful people; vc 
ask you to remove it from your civil code ; we a.sk it, that our homes ;ind 
liresides may lie j)roteeted ; wc ask it, that our Just earnimr- as laborers 
may be secured to us, and none olVered imjiuuily, in withholding from us 
our just hire ; that justice may be meted out to all, without respect to com- 
plexion ; the' j^uilty puni>hed ; the innocent i»rotecte»l ; the shield of wise, 
and wholesome and equal laws, extcndeii over all in your Lrreat State ; up- 
on her nioiintains, iii her v;illie> ;ind dee]) ravines ; by her winding- strrains: 
may your State be a model, even to the cdder sister Stales, in respect oj 
your just law> ; iimy your irrowth, prosperity and happiness, be bounded 
only iiy time and immortality. 



28 



''^ ' 29 - . ' _._ — 






PROCEEDINGS 



Ul' IHE 



SECOA']) AXNUAL COXVEATIOA 



OF flTK 



COLOEEP CTTIZEXS 



UK Tin. 



?fnti; nf U^alifuniin. 



n^-iz^^T- 



Tir.I.l) I\ THK ( ITY . Of SACl'vAAIKXTO, DKX'. yTH. lOTII. 

mil. AM);l:2TH. 



SAX KU AX CI SCO: 

I.- II.' r mil. AMI W. ItAND.VI.I.. I'KINTKIt-'. 

18. ■)»•>. 



30 

PROCEEDIiYGS 



OF THE 



SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION 



Of THE 



COLORED CITIZENS 



OF THE 



S^lnte nf (Cnlifarnia 



HELD IX THF CITY O^ SACRAMENTO, DEC. 9TH lOTH 

IITH, AND 12TH. 



SAN FRANCISCO: 

J. H. UDELL AND W. RAXDALX, PRINTERS. 
1856. 



31 

FIRST D,AY'S PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



COJfVENTION, 



MORNING SESSION'. DECEMBER 9tH, 1856. 



The delegates appointed by the colored citizens of the various Asscm. 
bly districts of the State, to hold a .GOnvcntioh on the l)th day of De- 
cember, in the City of Sacramento, met pursuant to call at the A. M. 
E. Church. 

Mr. J. H. Townsend, of San Francisco^ Chairman of the State Exe- 
cutive Committee, called the nvJCting'fio order, and proposed that delegates 
at once proceed to appoint a Chairman and Secretary, pro tern, prepara- 
tory tc( the permanejit organization of the Convention. On the motion; 
of J. B. Sanderson, F. G. Bnrbadoes, of Sacramento, was cabled to the 
chair ; and, upon the motion of W. H. Ncwby, E. J. Vosburgh, of 
Yuba, was appointed Secretary, pro tnn. Mr. Thomas Dcttcr, of 
Sacramento, moved to appoint a committee of five to receive and ex- 
amine the credentials of Delegattes, a,nd report the same to the meeting. 
The motion was adopted, and the following; gentlemen were appointed 
by thechair : 

committer; on CREPENiaALS. 



M. S. Hayncs, .... Sacramento. 

E. K. Phelps, El Dorado. 

W. H. Ncwby, . .San Francisco. 



A. E. Denni9on,..San Francisco. 
Jacob Fi'ancis, Yuba. 



The committee made th^ report as follows ; 



Number 


of counties represented. 






17. 


^Number 


of Delegates in convention, .... 




..... 61. 


Sonoma County, 


Geo.AV; Miller, 


El Dorado, 


Co., 


Wm. H. Hall, 


Mnrin, 


bi 


A. Sisco, 






it 


Aixdrew Collins^ 


Shasta, 


i4 


B. B. Young, 






it 


G. B. Brown, 


ti 


H 


E. Vincent, 






(I 


F. Hutfield, 


Yuba, , 


ti, 


T. J. Vosburgh, 






it 


E. K. Phelps, 


*4 


l( 


M. J. Brown, 






ti 


John Buckner, 


ti 


ti 


Jacob Francis, 






it 


J. B. Sanderson, 


Nevada, 


at 


Emory Waters, 






it 


G. AV. J?ooth^ 


ii 


it 


E.A. Booth, 






it 


F. Lawrence, 


San Mateo 


it 


R. A. Hall, 






it 


J. C. Mortimer, 



32 



Sacramento Co. 



San Franco,' 



F. G. Barbadocs, 
Thomas Dcttcr. 
O. i'..'Kletcl»«r, 
J. M. Flowers, 
M. S. Haviics, 
J. B. Handy, 
James Hubbard, 
R. W. Frcman, 
S. Holmes, 
David Lewis, 
John Wilmot, 
W. M. Xewby, 
J. H. Townscnd, 
J. J. Moore, 

E. J. Johnson. 
A. G. Dcjinison 

G. W. Gordon, 
C. B. Bass, 

H. M. Collins, 
Peter Anderson, 
Wm. F. Courts, 



San Fran'co Co. 



Butte, 



Mariposa, " 
SanJoaquin-^'^* 

Siskiyou, " 

Placer, " 

Napa, ' 

' AJameda, " 

Tuolumne, " 



F. R. Carter;', 
Nathan Pointer, 
E. H. Parker, 
M. W. Gibbs, 

C. H. McDougal 

D. P. Stokes, 
Daniel Seals, 
Charles Satchel, 
J. E. Brown, 
W. H. Hall, 

J. B. Johnson, 
Alex. Ferguson, 
Thomas Duff, 
Saml B. Hycr, 
AVm. Robinson, 
C. M. Wils6n, 
I. P. Gibbs, 
C. A. Gibson, 
W. H. Harper, 
H. F. Smith, 
N. F. Henry, 



Mr. Dcttcr moved to adopt the report of the Committee on Creden- 
tials. Mr. Sanderson inquired if members of the State Executive Com- 
are to be considered ex-otficio mc^mbers of this convention. Mr. Newby 
thouglit they should be so considered ; to settle the point he would of- 
fer a motion that the names of J. B. Sanderson and Geo. W. Booth be 
recorded on the list of Delegates to the Convention, and that they be 
accredited as representing the assembly districts in which they reside ; 
this motion was Submitted as amendatory of the report of the Committee 
on credentials, and adopted. 

The report on motion of Mr. Detter was adopted. 

J. H. Townscnd moved that a committee be appointed to consist of 
one from each county represented, to report a list of officers for the 
permanent organization of this convention. A discussion ensued as to 
the most satisfactorv mode of appointing the committee as proposed in 
the motion of Mri Townscnd, in which Messrs. Hall, Phelps, Newby,' 
Lewis. Hcni'y, Moore, and others, participated. 

Mr. J. J{. Johnson, of Butte, suggested that in appointing this com- 
mittee, we adopt the course pursued by the convention last year. On 
examination, >Ir. Townscnd"s motion was found to be in accordance 
witli the course taken last year, and it was adopted without further de- 
bate. The chairman appointed the following gentlemen as the com- 
mittee on nominating officers : 



W. H. Harper Alameda, 

E.K.Phelps, El Dorado, 

Thos. Duff. Mariposa, 

Aaron Sisco Marin, 

E. A. Bootli Nevada 

C. A. Gibson Napa, 

1. Gibbs, Placer. 

C. ^L Wilson Siskiyou, 

B. B. Young, • . . Shasta, 



Richard Hall, San Mateo, 

G. F. Fletcher, Sacramento, 

S. B. Hycr, San Joaquin, 

G. W. Miller, Sonoma, 

W. F. Courts, San Francisco, 

W. D. Moses, Santa Clara, 

N. F. Henry, Tuolumne, 

Jacob Francis, Yuba. 



it (t 

ti it 



33 

The Nominating Committee, through their chairman, Mr. H. Har- 
per, presented the following Report: 

For President, — Wm. H. Hall,. . Butte County. 

For Vice Presidents, — B. B. Young, Shasta 

H. T. Smith, Tuolumne " 

T. Duff, Mariposa " 

F. G. Barbadocs, Sacramento" 

" " " Wm. H. Newby, San. Fran. •' 

For Secretaries, — J. B. Sanderson El Dorado " 

F. J. Vosburgh, Yuba 

" " S. Howard Sacramento" 

For Chaplain, — Rev. J. J. Moore San Fran. " 

For Door Keepers, — Mitchell S. Haynes, Sacramento" 

^ C. B. Bass, San Fran. " 

The Report was accepted. 

On motion of Mr. Francis, a committee was appointed to wait upon 
the President, and conduct him to the chair ; Messrs. Jacob. Francis, 
and Newport F. Henry, were by the chair appointed. The President, on 
being conducted to the chair, was received with applause — he addressed 
the convention as follows : 

Gextlemex : — In electing me to preside over your deliberations, in 
this, the Second Convention of the Colored People of the State of Cal- 
ifornia, you have conferred an honor, to which I did not dare aspire. I 
sec around me gentlemen, who,^by reason of their superior wisdom, 
and more extended experience of public assemblies, I deem far better 
qualified to discharge the duties of the position you have assigned me ; 
for your partiality in singling me out for this honor, I beg you to accept 
my thanks. I shall endeavor, to the amount of my abilitv, to fulfil 
your expectations ; to preside with impartiality and efficiency, assured 
that I may depend u])on your good judgment to sustain me ; young and 
inexperienced, I may make mistakes — have patience with me, for they 
will be faults of the head, not of the heart. 

It is only with such feelings and such hopes I dare accept this honor. 
Gentlemen, the occasion which has brought us together is one of great 
importance. The object we seek, equal testimony in the courts of this 
State, is deserving of our most earnest effort ; the eyes of the public arc 
upon us, expectation is rife, our friends here and in the older States are 
looking with anxiety for the results of i/ur action ; as Nelson said when 
about to engage at Trafixlgar, " England expects every man to do his 
duty." So expect our constituents of us. \Vc are not without many 
enemies who would rejoice to see confusion and division in our midst, 
but let us enter upon our deliberations in a spirit of kindness and con- 
ciliation. If there ever was a people among whom union was necessarv; 
union of purpose, of spirit, and action for the sake of succeS^, then is it 
necessary to us. So peculiar are the circumstances and conditions amid 
which we live in our native country ;' of those conditions I need not 
speak in detail ; expedience has made us familiar with them. Gentle- 
men, fdr my own part, my hopes of my people in the future are strong ; 
stronger to-day for what I see around me; I have not words to express 
my emotion ; this scene, this occasion, I shall rememWt all my life with,. 
pleasure and gratitude. Since the convention of 1855, events have 
transpired indicating a slow, but sure and probable change in pubHc 



34 

sentiment iu regard to our "character as a people ; the increase of intelli- 
gence, of wealth, of mor^l excellence, and as a consequence the develop- 
ment of those qualities which give dignity to men, and command for 
them the respect of their fellows, must -inevitably secure the same re- 
sults to us. 

Gentlemen, our work is before us ; we are fortunate in having a chaif 
to guide us in the convention of last year ; allow me to repeat, that I 
shall trust to your kindness and intelligence to aid me in the discharges 
of my duties in preserving order and in prosecuting wise and efficient 
action ; may God speed the day when, as a peopl**. we shall be truly free 
and equal. 

At'tcr the applause whicli followed the President's speech had subsi- 
ded, the chaplain, llev. J. J. Moore was introducod, and addressed the 
convention as follows : 

GKNTi.KMtx — I thank you for the honor conferred upon me hy ap- 
pointing me your chaplain. It is very gratifying tome to know, that in 
the beginning we acknowledged our obligations to, and our dependence 
upon our Creator and Heavenly Father ; this is well. We are engaged 
in a good work, no less than that of our moral, political, and intellectual 
improvement. He that holds the lives of men in his keeping ; that 
bringeth fear and trembling upon their hearts because of their evil doing. 
He can give us the victory over all opposition ; in our labors prosecu- 
ting a righteous cause, nothing on earth can prevent our ultimate tri- 
umph. His attributes are pledged for our success, and if God is for us, 
who cr.n be against us to prevent ? Our claims upon our white fellow- 
citi/cns have been neglected ; our true character and general interests 
liave been grossly misrepresented ; but the darkness is passing and the 
light of truth begins to dawn. May God control our thoughts, our 
hearts, and our actions: as with his b.essing, wehad success in conven- 
tion last year, so may we, with his favor, have success in our present 
convention. 

Mr. T. D.ntcr moved that a committee be appointed by the chair to 
prepare business for this con\xntion. The motion was adopted, and the 
following ijontlemen were appointed as the Business Committee. 

J. H.' Townscnd, B. B. Young. N. F. Henry, G. W. Miller, M. S. 
Hayncs, R. Hall, T. Dettcr, A. Sisco, J. Francis,!. Duff, E. R. Phelps, 
J. B. Johnson. 

J. H. Townscnd moved that a committee of seven be appointed by the 
chair to pn-parc and present to the convention a report upon the sub- 
ject of a State Press, to be devoted to the interests of the colored people 
of tlio State of C alifornia. Motion adopted, and the following gentle- 
men api)ointed. 

W. H. Xowby, J. B. Johnson, 3. B. Young, T. Du^F, A. Ferguson, 
A. Collins, J. Francis. 

F. G. Barbadoes moved that a committee of three be appointed by the 
chair on Finance. The motion was adopted, and the following gentle- 
men were appointed. 

F. G. Barbadoes, G. AV. Gordon, G. W. Miller. 

Mr. F. Henry made a motion to appoint a committee of five to draw 
\\\) a report upon the subject of Education. Mr. Henry said, that the 
subject of education was one of great importance, and that it should 
claim the interest and attention of the convention, and he earnestly 



35 

hoped that the committee yrould^ appointed immediately. The chair- 
man remarked that he thought the motion of the gentleman fropi 
Tuolumne rather premature at the present stage of the convention ; 
there was much other busia^ss of more immediate importance that 
should take precedence; he hoped the gentleman would not deem him 
discourteous or opposed to the measure ; he promised him every assist- 
SRce for the advancement of 'his object, "when it should at some later 
period come up before the convention. 

Mr. Moore favored the immediate action of the convention upon Mr. 
Henry's motion. Mr. Francis said that his constituents had sent him 
there more particularly to work for the repeal of those laws which de- 
prive us of our testimony in the Courts of California, and that he could 
not favor any other matter until we shall haVe made some progress in 
that direction. He was opposed to any action at present upon the ques- 
tion of Education. Mr. Richard Hall read the call of the convention 
and the obj.ects proposed therein. He did not or would not oppose the 
motion, but thought that we should proceed in the order of business as 
proposed in the call. 

Mr. Townsend thought that the report of such a committee as that 
which Mr. Henry contemplated, should refer especially to the laws 
which deprive children of color of equal school rights. He was opposed 
to the motion because it was not specific ; he hoped that it would be 
withdrawn. Mr. Booth desired to be informed upon the subject ; he 
had thought it was public sentiment that was the preventative. Mr. 
Townsend explained the matter. Upon a call for the question the mo- 
tion was put on Mr. Henry^ motion, and carried by 22 to 16. 

The chair appointed the following gentlemen as the Committee on 
Education. 

X. F. Henry, F. G. Barbadoes, C. M. Wilson, F. Hatfield, E. R. 
Phelps. 

Upon the motion fo F. G. Barbadoes, the convention adjourned to 4 
o'clock, P. M. 

J. B. Saxdkusox, 

F. J. VOSDUUGII, 

S. Howard. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



FIRST DAY. 



At 4 o'clock, p. M., the convention was called to order by President 
Hall. The throne of grace was addressed by the chaplain, Rev. J. J. 
Moore. The Secretary then read the proceedings of the morning ses- 
sion, which were approved". 

J. H. Townsend, chairman of the Business Committee, requested that 
the committee be allowed until to-morrow morning to prepare their re- 
port for the action of the convention. The request was granted. 

Mr. Townsend then introduced the resolution, viz. : That this^'after- 
loon be devoted to the hearing of remarks of delegates, one from each 
county represented, and that fifteen minutes be allowed each delegate. 



36 



Mr. Ferguson proposed to amend the resolution by the words, " and 
that each county be called in the order in which the credentials were 
handed in." Amendment accepted, and the resolution adopted. The 
name* were called in the following order, on the part of Sonoma county. 
G. W. Miller responded. 



J. H. Townsend, . .San Francisco, 

A. Furguson, Butte, 

T. Duff, Mariposa, 

Wm. Robinson, San Joaquin, 

C. H. Wilson, Siskiyou, 

W. H. Harper, Alameda, 

C. A. Gibson, Napa, 

I. Gibbs, Placer. 



A. Sisco, Marin, 

B. B. Young, Shasta, 

J. Francis, Yuba. 

E. A. Booth, Ner-ada. 

R. Hall San Mateo, 

F. Hatfield El Dorado, 

N. F. Henry, Tuolumne, 

D. Lewis,. .-.. Sacramento, 

T. Dctter 

The afternoon, from 4 to 7, was thus occupied, and much valuable in- 
formation communicated, embracing statistics of population, business, 
wealth, and character of the colored people living in the counties repre- 
sented. It is to be regretted that the various members made no notes 
of their remarks, as they could then have been published. Messrs. 
Booth and Better having handed in notes, Mr. E. A. Booth, said : 

Mr. President and gentlemen — I am happy ^o meet with you on this 
occasion, and to respond to the call on behalf of Nevada county. The 
object for which we have met is a good one, and I feel deeply my want 
of language to express my feelings in relation thereto ; but I will en- 
deavor, briefly, to present a few facts respecting the condition of our 
people in my county. There are about five hundred colored people re- 
siding there, variously employed. A few are farmers and -mechanics, a 
small number are engaged in trading, but the majority of them are 
miners. It is with pride I say it, we are showing to our white fellow- 
citizens that we have some natural abilities ; we are resolved to let 
them see that all we want is an equal chance, an open field, and a fair 
fight. 

If they will <.Y\^ the mountains down, 

Wo will the rivers dry ; 
An<l if they cnn the <'olor raise, 

We certainly can xry. 

"We intend to disprove the allegation -that we are naturally inferior to 
them. The colored people of Nevada county possess property to the 
amount of 8300,000 in mining claims, water and ditch stock, and some 
real estate. We have one church, but no permanent school-house ; a 
company is about forming to build one. Immediately upon seeing the 
call for this convention we came together, and after some deliberation, 
the people chose Mr. Emory Waters and your humble servant to repre- 
sent them in the convention. Our constituents feel deeply the disabili- 
ties which we suffer. Under the present laws of this State, as they re- 
fer to our testimony and the school privileges of colored children, and 
they are willing to join you and do their part in the struggle for our 
rights. It is with regret I acknowledge that we have some among us 
who are indifferent to their condition, but I trust that "all such will soon 
see and feel that every colored man is the victim of bitter prejudice and 



37 

uBJust laws, and that they can lend their influence to change the one 
and abate the other ; to this end how important it is that we should be 
united ; if it be true that " uition ia strength," then is it also true, that 
division is weakness. 'Who then speaks of disunion or weakness? 
Brothers in sufiering and oppression ! our experience teaches us that 
by union only can we accomplish the purpose for which we have assem- 
bled. Let us drive out from our midst all local or sectional prejudices ; 
we are all brothers, whether from Missouri or Maine, from New York 
or Alabama ; crushed by the same power, let us be actuated by the 
same motives, the same aspirations ; then down with the demon discord, 
and from to-day let us labor in union for the common good. 

Mr. Better said — Mr. President, there seems to be a feeling of the 
deepest inierest manifested here to-day. I rejoice at it, and I sincerely 
hope that love and unity may govern us in our actions. Why have we 
convened together ? Because the law, relating to our testimony in the 
Courts of California, is but a shadow. It affords no protection to our 
families or property. T may see the assassin plunge his dagger to the 
vitals (if my neighbor, yel;, in the eyes of the law, I see it not. I may 
ovcrheaTi thn robber or incendiary plotting the injury or the utter ruin 
of my fellow citizen, and yet, in the judgment of the law, I hear it not. 
The robbery may follow, the. conflagration may do its work, and the 
author of the evil may go unpunished, because only a colored man saw 
the act or heard the plot. 

I'ndor these circumstances who are really injured and losers by the 
law : It deprives colored men from testifying in cases where white per- 
sons arc parties. Is it not evident that the white citizen is an equal suf- 
ferer with us } When will the people of this 8tatc learn that justice to 
the colored man is justice to themselves ? Why, in the despotic lands of 
P'uropc the humblest servant may approach his sovereign, jirescnt the 
statement of his grievance, and rarely docs he fail to obtain redress ; 
but here, in this boasted land of liberty and equality, where the pe()])le 
are the sovereigns, the laws but express the popular sense of right ; the 
judges interpret, and the courts enforce them. What redress have we 
from the legal tribunal? What protection from injustice have we? 
Even the ministers of the law are often compelled to stifle their convic- 
tions of right or wrong, and do violence to their sense of justice. under 
this enactment. Mr. President, I do not believe this state of things can 
last ; the people of this State cannot be interested in upholding and con- 
tinuing an act which never has been and never can be made compatible 
with the safety and security of the lives and property of those whom, 
by a gross sophism, it assumes to benefit and protect. It is an act alike 
disgraceful to the intelligence of this State, and a foul blot upon the 
pages of her Statute Book. Friends, let us feel assured that a brighter 
day is opening, the public mind is awakening, let us continue to hope 
and work for this change, and may heaven crown our efforts with 
success. 

Seven o'clock, the hour of adjournment having arrived, the President 
declared the convention adjourned to Wednesday, 10 o'clock, A. M. 



J. B. Sanderson, 

F. J. Vosburgh, ^ Secy's. 

S. Howard, 






38 

SECOND DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. 

MOKXIXO SESSION. DEC. IOtU, 1856. 

Convention met at 10^ o'clock. President Hall called the Delegates 
to order. Proceedings were opened with the reading of the loth chap- 
ter of Proverbs, and prayer by the Chaplain. Minutes of the previous 
meeting read and approved. Messrs. Lewis Mortimore, of El Dorado, 
and Charles Gibson, of Napa counties, presented their credentials, and 
were invited to take their seats as members. 

B. B. Young said, "he desired to avail himself of the present oppor- 
tunity to thank the Convention for the honor they had conferred in 
making him one of the Vice Presidents. He hoped that the action of 
the Convention would redound to the honor of its members, and the 
success of our cause." 

Mr. Newby remarked, " I hope that Delegates will endeavor to be 
punctual in their attendance on the Sessions of the Convention, so that 
we may commence business according to the rules which have beer. 
adopted. If it is obligatory upon the President to adjourn at the hour 
named in those rules; it is equally obligatory upon him to open the 
Sessions at the hour specified therein." 

Mr. Gordon moved that Mr. David Seals, of San Francisco, be invited 
to* take a seat as a Delegate. Motion adopted. 

Mr. George AV. Booth moved that Mr. Lawrence, of Placerville, be 
invited to take a seat as a Delegate. 

Mr. Newby objected; he said, I hope this motion will not pass. The 
colored people of Placerville, whence Mr. Lawrence comes, have been 
guilty of great dereliction of duty. Placerville refused to send Dele- 
gates to this Convention, at least none have come from the people. 
They are said to have treated the authority of the last Convention with 
neglect, and practiced bad faith towards the Executive. I do not say 
Mr. Lawrence has done this personally, neither would I be guilty of 
discourtesy towards him. But this Convention should have more self- 
respect than to receive a Delegate from the Placcrvillians. until the mat- 
ter charged upon them is satisfi^ctorily explained. The colored people 
have sent us here to act for them ; it is an earnest work in which we arc 
engaged. 

Mr. Booth explained ; he said, my idea in proposing Mr. Lawrence 
was this: that gentleman is in possession of facts respecting the action 
of the people of Placerville ; admit him as a member, and you aflbrd 
him an opportunity of stating those facts. 

Mr. Townsend hoped the question would be taken, and the matter 
di-;poscd of one way or the other. He thought we were losing valuable 
time upon a point of slight consequence. 

Mr. Ferguson said, let us have no informality in our action. I have 
ever noticed, that in ])ublic assemblies, haste and informality genetally 
result in faihire, and that formality is the basis of success. The gentle- 
man from Placerville once admitted, you will have established a bad pre- 
cedent. You will have cast otf that form and dignity of action, which, 
as a Convention, gives you influence and importance with the people. 

Mr. Newby said, it is better to be just to ourselves, and at the same 
time to the people of Placerville. Society makes laws ta punish offen- 
ces, to prevent crime, or its repetition. Society assumes and exercises 



39 

this right as necessary from the nature of things. The colored people 
have delegated us to act for them to a certain extent, for specific purpo- 
ses ; in working out these purposes, these results, the details must be 
followed and enforced. Here is a case, for which, as well too for our- 
selves, we are in some sort compelled to make a law. We claim the 
right to enforce a nrioral necessity, and to denounce those who, having 
acknowledged the Convention, and their interest in the succcss^of its 
action, yet utterly disregard the obligations to the Convention which 
they had voluntarily assumed. It may be right to be courteous, and 
most certainly I feel no bitterness, my words are spoken 

" Mure in sorrow than ic angor." 

The people of Placerville are guilty of something ; a wrong has already 
been committed ; I consider that she has been arraigned, and until purg- 
ed of that wrong, she is not entitled to the same courtesies with other 
counties ; courtesies which we yield to others as their unquestioned 
right, as we claim them for ourselves while acting in good faith. The 
question of courtesy is not involved in this proceeding. Placerville 
holds the relation to this Convention of a person charged with an of- 
fence ; he is not yet judged ; but the onus probandi; the burden of proof 
rests upon him. From these circumstances can you treat her Delegates 
as you do those from the other counties ? No ! Some of your best men, 
numbers of your Executive Committee, ^-isited Placer\-ille to settle cer- 
tain business agreeably to the action of the last Convention ; that they 
were not successful, let Placerville bear the blame ; for my own part, I 
hold that she has treated us most shamefully, most disgracefully. 

Mr. Francis thought that we were pre-judging the case; no specific 
charge has been made ; until this is done, we cannot decide upon the 
facts ; we want information. 

Mr. C. M. Wilson said, I hope the gentleman who made the motion 
under discussion will withdraw? it until the facts are ascertained ; let us 
not be in too great haste ; if the people of Placerville have acted wrong- 
fully, let us know the facts. 

Mr. N. Henry said, the gentleman from Placerville is a stranger to me, 
and I can have no prejudice against him; I would go for letting him 
come in at once, but it is said there is wrong, there is trouble amorrg our 
people at Placerville ; at present, there are no definite charges. If it 
had been said that this gentleman was implicated in the wrong, I should 
be against his admission ; but if he had not a participation therein, then 
let us receive him. 

Mr. P^mory Waters said, are there not Delegates from El Dorado 
county in the Convention ? If you have already received Delegates from 
that county, it seems to me you should let those from Placerville come 
in ; I think it will be inconsistent to refuse them ; if they have troubles, 
let them settle them among themselves ; refusing Placerville, it seems to 
me, will be reflecting upon the county, and equivalent to placing all our 
people there under ban. 

Mr. H^ M. Collins, asked, is Mr. Booth a Delegate from El Dorado 
county ? 

Mr. Booth said, I am not sent as a Delegate from Placerville, though 
a resident of that place. I am here as a member of the Executive Com- 
mittee, appointed by the Convention of last year. The people there did, 



40 

at first, propose to send Mr. Lawrence to this Convention, with three 
other gentlemen, but afterwards decided to send no Delegate. As Mr. 
Lawrence is here, I wished the Convention to receive him that we might 
get his statement of facts. 

Mr. Moore said, we can avoid getting into trouble ourselves ; let us 
go right ; the question is, has the gentleman got credentials ? Is he 
delegated by the people of Placetville ? Delegate means one sent and 
empowered to act for others. Is he sent, to this Convention ? This will 
be the best way of coming to a decision upon the question of admitting 
or not. 

Mr. Ferguson, though averse under ordinary circumstances to shutting 
off discussion, because I am in favor of the largest liberty, liberty of 
speech. Yet, it is plain we may not otherwise be able to decide as to 
the propriety or impropriety of receiving the gentleman from Placerville, 
and for the purpose of facilitating business, I will move that the previous 
question be now put. This motion being seconded, was sustained. 

The President then put the motion of Mr. Booth, that J. F. Lawrence, 
of PlaccrA-ille, be invited to take a scat as a Delegate, and it was carried. 
Mr. Peter Anderson stated that he intended, during the Session of the 
Convention, to bring in a series of resolutions in favor of a State Press. 
Mr. M. S. Haynes moved that a committee of three be appointed to 
investigate the charges presented against Placemlle, and report upon 
the same to the Convention. 

H. M. Collins proposed to amend by appointing five on that commit- 
tee; amendment accepted. The chair appointed Messrs H. M. Collins, 
E. A. Booth, Richard Hall, Charles M. Wilson, William H. Thomas. 

Mr. S. Howard asked {Permission to read a series of resolutions — 
granted. 

The resolutions having been read, were, by vote, laid on the table. 
The Business Committee, by its chairman, J. H. Townscnd, reported 
the following preamble and series of resolutions. 

Whereas, The state and condition of the colored citizens of California 
is one of political as well as social debasement, and calls loudly upon 
them to exert themselves in behalf of reform, and to unite their ener- 
gies to repeal and overthrow the cruel and unjust laws of this State 
which are imposed upon them, and 

\Vhercas, We are satisfied that our condition, according to the oppor- 
tunities enjoyed, will bear a favorable comparison with that of any other 
class of men in this State ; and being fully determined to use every pro- 
per exertion to obtain those great and inestimable rights for which our 
fathers fought and bled, in common with others, that they might secure 
them as an inheritance to us, their children. Therefore, be it 

Resolved, That we will use every means in our power to exhibit a 
true state of our condition, repudiating the base slanders and falsehoods 
that have been fabricated against us. 

REPORT OF BUSINESS COMMITTEE. 

Resolred, That we will continually remind our white fellow-citizens 
that they are imposing upon us the same wrongs and grievances which 
caused thcia forefathers to rebel against Great Britain, and to appeal to 
their arms, and the God of bf.ttles. 



41 

Resolved, That the law* of-. the State of California disfanchising its 
colored citizens, on the ground of color, are a foul blot upon the Stat- 
utes of the State, having no precedent in the annals- of the world, un- 
worthy of, ard a disgrace to, the enlightened and progressive spirit of 
the American people. 

Resohed, That we claim our rights in this country, as any other class, 
not as citizens by adoption, but by right of birth ; that we hail with de- 
light its onward progress ; sympathise with it in its adversity ; and would 
freely cast our lot in the fortunes of battle, to protect her against foreign 
invasion. 

Resohed, That the laws of evidence in judicial investigation, should 
be accommodated to, and identified with, the laws of the human mind, 
and, therefore, every force and circumstance ha\-ing a tendency to throw 
light upon the subject under investigation, should be heard and judged 
of according to their relative weight and value, and with reference to all 
the circumstances of credit or discredit connected ■with them. 

Resohved, That past experience has abundantly shown, that all at- 
tempts to establish artificial standards of credibility, depending upon 
such tests as race, color, creed, or -country, are as unwise as they are 
unjust ; that they serve only on the one side to obstruct the investiga- 
tion of truth, by the erection of useless barriers ; and, on the other, to 
defraud the excluded classes, while, at the same time, they subject them 
in their lives, in their persons, and in their property, to outrage and 
injustice, with impunity, from the more favored classes. 

ResoJred, That the true and only tests of credibility in a witness, arc 
his intelligence, integrity, and disinterestedness ; and that, as a race, we 
are willing to be subject to these tests, to be applied in each ca?e as it 
occurs, and that we ought not to be subject to any other. 

Resolrcd, That to a class of people, the right of testimony is as valu- 
able as the right of self-defence — a right which no generous foe will de- 
ny even to an enomy. 

Resolved, That we recommend the creation of a contingent fund, to be 
controlled by a committee, having discretionary power, to enable them 
to carry forward any measures that have for their object the amelioration 
of our condition. 

Resolved, That a State Executive Committee be appointed by thfe Con- 
vention, with full powers to adopt such measures as may be deemed ex- 
pedient to accomplish th0 objects in view. 

Resolved, That the common law, and the common school, are the 
only hope of a free and enlightened people ; the former their shield, and 
the latter, their guide ; ^nd no people can be prosperous and happy who 
are deprived of these inestimable rights of God to man. 

Resolved, That the character, integrity, industry, and intelligence of 
the colored citizens of California, will compare favorably with that of any 
class of men in this State, and are descrsung of better treatment 
from the authorities than that to which they are exposed, by the legalizing 
of the principle (as applied to them) that " might makes right." 

Resolved, That we will memorialize the Legislature at its approach- 
ing session, for the repeal of so much of the 3d and 4th paragraphs of 
Scxtion 394, of an Act passed April 29th. 1851, entitled " An Act to 
regulate proceediri^^s in civil cases in ^he Courts of Justice in this State," 
as relates" to negroes : also,' to repeal so much of Section 14, of an Act 



42 

entitled " An Act concerning crimes and punishments," passed April 
ICth, 1850, as relates to negroes and mulattoes, and which disqualifies 
negroes and mulattoes from being competeut witnesses in the Courts of 
Justice in this State, in cases or proceedings to which white persons are 
parties. 

The Report of the Business Committee was accepted on motion of Mr. 
Anderson. 

Mr. Henry moved to adopt the Report in sections : 

Mr. Ferguson suggested that the preamble should be in order : adopt- 
ed after the resolutions. 

Resolution No. 1 being read again, and upon the motion of Mr. New; 
by, adopted. 

Resolution No. 2 read, and on motion of Mr. Barbadoes, adopted. 

Resolution No. 3 read, Mr. Robinson moved its adoption — carried. 

Resolution No. 4 was read, pending a motion to adopt it Mr. Newby 
said. 

" I am opposed to the language of this resolution, •' that we hail with 
delight its onward progress ; " no man can expect me to do this ; a coun- 
arc, whose prosperity and wealth has been built upon our sweat and 
blood ; to say we hail its progress with delight, is to make ourselves ri«- 
diculous : to tell this to America — to the world— is to volunteer the ac- 
knowledgement of a degree of servility, that w(>uld make us undeserving 
the sympathy and respect of just men. 

" Wc freely cast in oui lots in the fortunes of battle, to protect against 
foreign invasion ; " this may be patriotism — but patriotism may be a 
vice ; in a white man — a freeman, it may be worthily indulged ; as an 
American, the events of his country's history, and the circumstances of 
her present condition, may indeed stir within him sentiments of pride 
and love of country; but to the colored people, what is the history of 
the past, in America, but the history of wrongs and cruelties such as no 
other people upon the face the earth have been forced to endure ? The 
same institutions that bless the white man, are made to curse the color- 
ed man. 

" Shall we say ' we will protect against foreign invasion ? ' God kows 
I speak advisedly — I would hail the advent of a foreign army upon our 
shores, if that army provided liberty to me and my people in bondage ; 
this may be thought ultra, but in saying it I am influenced by the same 
motives and spirit which ifluenced Henry, when he said to the burgesses 
of Virginia, ' give me liberty, or give me death I ' words that made men's 
blood move fast within them, ai^ caused them instinctively to clutch the 
handles of their swords. 

" Henry was thought at first to be bold and ultra ; but history regards 
him as a brave and noble man. We are wronged ; let us declare it open- 
ly to the world. England has done her duty towards us ; she has abol- 
ished slavery in her colonies, and is doing what she, can to destroy the 
system from the earth. In the great conflict of opinioh that is stirring 
the nations, her example, her iiifluence is on the side of freedom. 

" Would wc, could we do battle against England? There is in men 
an innate sense of justice — we feel it; let us not stultifiy oiirselves. I 
trust the resolution will not be adopted. 

Mr. Henry said : — " I love my country, Avith all her faults, I love her," 
but I cannot hail with joy her progress ; if, by progress, is meant theac- 



43 

quisitlon of Territory and the extension of slavery therein, as in the case 
of Texaj, Kansas and Nebraska. If we were capable of hailing such a 
progress, we were fit for nothing else, and ought to be enslaved. 

" It is said to be impolitic to express such sentiments ; but is it right for 
the opprefsed to tell their oppressors of their wrongs, face to face. 

'* As to shouldering our muskets and marching to the field of battle 
to fight against foreign invaders ; our fathers did that, pouring out their 
blood, and giving their lives freely for American liberties ; how were 
they, how have their posterity been rewarded? Avith chains and oppres- 
sion, ^ook at the laws of the United States ; look at the public docu- 
ments which illustrate her public sentiment ; how prevalent the spirit of 
prejudice and hatred against the colored man; they have injured, and 
therefore hate us ; let a different course be pursued — let the whites put 
away their prejudice, and do a just part by us ; and, when they do this, 
we shall feel that we have a country — that patriotism is a noble virtue, 
and like our fathers, we wall shoulder our muskets, and expose our bo- 
dies, ever ready to defend our country against foreign invaders or domes- 
tic foes, to protect her institutions, and promote her progress. 

Mr. D. Lewis said : — " Mr. President, it seems to me, we are traveling 
out of the record ; I supposed we had met for a specific purpose ; this 
resolution is leading us away intS a maize of inextricable confusion ; let 
us come back and attend to the matters proposed in the call for the con- 
vention. 

Mr. J. Hubbard said : — " The only objection I have to the resolution 
is, it is not clear in its language. Like Mr. Henry, I love the land of 
my birth, and hail its progress in the right ; but the laws which sustain 
her slave pens and prisons, her auction blocks, and the selling of human 
beings, the branding of men and the scourging of women, the separation 
of man and wife, parents and children, I hate them. Fight for the pro- 
tection of these, no ! Men identified with those who have been and still 
are the victims of these oppressors; and, let it not be supposed that we 
could fight against any country that has reptfAiated this system. Why 
did the pilgrims leave England, protesting against the lawa^ the institu- 
tions of their country ? Because they could not enjoy freedom of con, 
science, aud religious toleration, popular history says, now, the puritans 
were right. Americans know they were right in that open protect, at 
home and abroad, even against the laws and policy of their native coun- 

Mr. Moore said : — '* If it is to build up slavery, that is quite another 
thing. I do not think this is the intended meaning of the language ; 
neither do I think the friends need to fear that the country will make 
any more progress in that direction. It is true the -south continues to 
threaten, that if she is not allowed to bully the people, and drive the 
country further in this progress backwards, thus extending the area of 
slavery, and consolidating their power, so that they may suppress free 
thought, free speech, and ^ free press, break down the last vestige of 
liberty, all but the liberty for themselves to be the national masters and 
overseers ; why then they will dissolve the Union. But we know these 
threats, as the politicians say, are for buncombe ; the south don't mean 
it ; they, indeed, dread nothing so much. 

But, then, I don't think it possible for them to get the North to go 
any further" downward ; they are beginning to combine in self-defense, 



44 

acting upon the principle of " the greatest good to the greatest num- 
ber,'" with the definition that that is " number one.'' The people of 
Yankeedom deserve no special credit from us ; it is not sjTnpathy with 
our condition ; but whcncesoever comes this manliness in them, I am 
glad to see it. Slavery is welding the chains about the white man, and 
they are galling him ; herein too is a sign of hope ; taking up arms is 
scarcely compatible with my profession ; if it were, I am inclined to think 
I should " right about face." 

Mr. F. G. Barbadoes said : — " It is with sorrow that I have listened 
to the intemperate expressions uttered by gentlemen in opposition to the 
fourth resolution. I do not entirely endorse that resolution, for the rea- 
son that I think some of its expressions unnecessary at this time. I 
speak of that portion referring to invasion by a foreign foe. Our coun- 
try, thank God, is not menaced by such a probability ; should that time 
come, I doubt not, that the colored man will be found as he ever has 
been in all the wars of America, fighting for home and liberty. 

AVith the affairs of England or other foreign nations, we have nothing 
to do at this time. "With the question of Slavery and the "Union, we 
have nothing tc say. This is not the t:me or place for the introduction 
of such inflammable and discordant subjects. 

"We are here as American citizens, amenable to the laws and claiming 
their protection by right of nativity, while acting upon a matter strictly 
local in its nature, benefits, and effects, viz., the removal of a speciail 
grievance in the laws of our adopted State ; a grievance which leaves us 
without a shadow of safety or protection for our families and property 
from the incursions of the robber, incendiary, or assassin. It is to the 
carrying out of this purpose that we should gather all our strength, and 
concentrate all our efforts. 

I appeal to the good sense of this Convention, if the introduction of 
all matter not directly touching the points for which we have assembled, 
should not be promptly suppressed? "Wc cannot, injustice to our con- 
stituents, allow such subjects to have occupancy in this Convention. I 
trust that the resolution may be withdrawn, and that harmony may be 
restored." 

Mr. Newby said : — " Mr. Barbadoes dislikes the language used in ref- 
erence to this resolution ; he calls it rash, incendiary, and yet he is op- 
posed to the resolution ; yes, to that part which refers to foreign inva-* 
sion. "What fallacy is this I The policy recommended by gentlemen- 
may be very good, but let us not promulgate a lie. How long shall we 
be governed by this degrading policy ? I do not believe it necessary that 
we should assume a position so wanting in respect ; we concede much to 
the publii.- continually in our intercourse with them, by oux words and 
actions, by the humility of our general deportment ; it is not necessary 
we should be hypocritical ; neither interest or true policy so dictate ; 
right thinking men would despise us for it. We have permitted this 
sort of policy to govern our conduct long enough, not that we should 
make it a point to offend, but speak frankly and truthfully. Intelligent 
whites know and appreciate intelligence wherever they see it ; they des- 
pise cowardice and duplicity ; we know that we should act, as they know 
they would in the same circumstances, because it is tight so to act. 

The Petitions sent in to the Legislature — and were respectful t hum- 
ble. Should we fall down upon our knees and kiss their feet? There 



45 

is no necessity for this ; let the people know what tve feel and what we 
think ; that where there is wrong, we hate it ; where right is, we love it ; 
we cannot deceive the whites ; they will know better if they give a 
thought to it, and in this resolution would see a lie. 

Mr. George Gordon said — " One would think, from the remarks of 
gentlemen, that we Avere disposed to imitate "Bully Brooks," or some 
other Southern fire-eater. I am opposed to the course proposed by those 
gerftlemen who would have us proceed with such a high hand, as though 
it were in our power to enforce rule or ruin. It becomes us to be cau- 
tious, in view of the circumstances of our position ; we are soliciting the 
attention of the people to the injustice of the laws which deprive us of 
testimony, and our children of public schooling. When we shall go to 
the State House asking for the repeal of those laws, we shall petition re- 
spectfully. Let us not here adopt any language or deportment incompa- 
tible with our attitude as petitioners there, or that is likely to prejudice 
the success of those petitions." 

Mr. Handy said — " The last clause of the resolution I am opposed 
to ; but with the language respecting the progress of our country I agree, 
if it refers to progress in wisdomand righteousness. Kighteousness ex- 
alteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people." 

Mr. Towusend saiVl — " I did not expect this resolution to pass without 
opposition, and perhaps alteration in its phraseology ; the language of 
the resolution is plain ; it is the unqualified statement of a /act, the con- 
nection between our actions and our words. We are interested in the 
progress of this nation ; we are benefitted by her general progress in 
learning, in the arts and sciences, and in her material prosperity ; there 
are men, a great number of whom care for nothing but wealth and pow- 
er, the almighty dollar being their God ; but there are also men who 
measure the greatness of a nation by its attainments in intellectual cul- 
ture in science, in the arts, and in moral excellence : the growth and 
progress of a nation in its parts, the evil with the good is simultaneous. 
If this country has made progress in the amount of its Slave territory, 
the number of its Slave victims, the strength and scope of its bad poli- 
cy, so has it made progness in knowledge, general education, religious 
toleration, moral science, in spreading the influences and developing the 
results of a high civilization. 

In the former case, as we have suffered, we deprecate progress in that 
direction as going backward. It is the increase of the diameter 
of the circle at the opposite side. So in the latter case upon this 
side, we have been benefitted in many ways ; there is such a thing as 
the world's public opinion ; we have hope in the progress of the nations, 
each extending its influence as so many circles, cuttilig the plain of, and 
mingling with our own. Liberty, truth, and humanity, must and will 
prevail. By her general progress in all that is high and noble we are 
benefitted. I said there is a connection between the words of the lat- 
ter part of the resolution and our actions ; it is so. At home, by our 
firesides, we are patriots ; we glory in the patriotism of our fathers, in 
the success of the American arms ; even in the Mexican war, how many of 
our young men went with the American troops to that country and en- 
dured hunger, sickness, privation, and exposure of life, such as the army 
often endured. 

Mr. Newby — In what capacity did they go, and from what motives ? 



46 

Mr. Town>cn(l — I am ns sotTJitivc as any one in regard to the grovel- 
ling roniluct of some ot" our people, nnil have ever been ojiposcd to a cer- 
t.iin sort of servile phraseology indulged in by them in their intercourse 
with the whites. 

iJut let us make tlie case personal. How woJild we act in the event 
of an invasion, in our somewhat altered circumstances .- In the last war 
colored men volunteered to drive the invader from tlie plantations. In- 
vaders are not wont to respect ]irivate rights or regard private wrongs. 
As property ht)lders, as fatiiers. as husbands, interested in the general 
observance of good laws, the preservation of social order, in maintaining 
inviolate the rights of property and the sanctity of home, how would we 
act : War is a state which suspends all laws exccjvt tiiose established 
for its own ettieieney. It is a very different thing from the ])racticed 
evolutions at the parade grounds, the ornamental drills in our thorough- 
fares. The s]urit of war aroused, its maddening taste for blood, the 
wild excitement of license and passion : wc do not expect to find in each 
soldier a Cincinnatus, a Scipio, or a Washington. Are we not interest- 
vd in — should we not hail the progress of this nation : Yes I and in the 
hour of trial we shall act in accordance with this resolution." 

Mr. II. M. Collins said — •' It is not always right to wait for public 
sentiment before taking a ])Osition : it is better to go for the right and 
wait for public sentiment to come to it. Speaking of what we would do 
in case of an invasion, we may judge of the future by the jiast. At the 
time of tlie Mexican war. our vouni; men at PittsburLrh hi Id a meeting' 
to deciile ujiim the propriety of going to Mexico; the elder heads op- 
posed the plan, and our Young America staid at home : but what was 
the fact r If wc did not o]>]>ose Mexico directly, we did indirectlv ; it 
made the fact evident, too. that colored young men. uiuler similar cir- 
cumstances, are inHuenccd by similar motives and feelings with the 
whites. 

Mr. (". M. Wilson said — •• Being on the lUisiness Committee I wTOte 
this resolution : all the resolutions that come froni the Committee arc 
not approved by tliem : it is their duty to arrange and present business, 
and it is for the Convention to take such action upon it as they may 
deem expedient or right : that can only be determined upon bv the cx- 
chanLTC of ojiinions. If gentlemen think that the ado])tiiui of this reso- 
lution will l>e productive of good, why not adopt it : Kor mv own part 
I think it will, because it is conciliatory and in harmony with the popu- 
lar American view of things." 

Mr. Detter said — " Let us proceed to take the vote upon this resolu- 
tion. There are. probably, many gentlemen who are in favor of it with- 
out alteration, while others regard it as stating what is not true, who 
would modify or reject. Let us now dispose of it." 

Mr. J. Francis proposed to amend, by striking out all the words after 
•• sympathise with it in its adversity." 

Mr. Ferguson said — *• I'pon the whole, I like the resolution as it is ; 
in dealing with enemies, my course is to oppose them vith their OAvn 
weapons ; knife against knife, pistol against pistol ; still, gentlemen, it 
cannot be denied, that we are surrounded by peculiar circumstances ; 
while actinc in the midst of enemies, it is necessary we should be politic. 

Much has been said of progress ; what is progress: It is to go for- 
ward to the light before us to new and higher ideas : for example, his- 



47 

tory and experience show us the defects of old customs, manners, and 
institutions, and also prove their excellencies. Progress is to reject the 
evil, to accept the good, and go forward trusting in development. Infi- 
nite power and wisdom has established the laws of progressive develop- 
ment ; we limit that power and wisdom when wc doubt the possibility 
of progress beyond present attainments. The difference between ^he 
Fejcc Islander and Daniel Webster illustrates progress ; so there is im- 
provement all the way from the lowest barbarism to the highest point of 
present civilization, and beyond, interminably. 

Kcpublicai^sm is progress from the old politics. New York and Ohio 
were thoroughly pro-slavery ; their late political action is the result of 
progressive ideas ; it is the kind of progress we hail : and there is a 
propriety in our saying it to the world as showing that we see, weigh, 
and appreciate it. 

Again, why should we not declare our readiness to defend our coun- 
try against foreign invasion ? We claim this as our country ; the love 
of our native land : as it is a duty, so it is natural ; we feel its power and 
acknowledge its obligations ; wrongs I know are in/lictcd upon us, but 
we are str^hggling for right, strong in the hope that it will prevail ; in 
the trial hour, as our fathers did, we would again prove the justice of 
our claims, and no sooner refuse, to defend our country than the whites. 
It is, indeed, simply the defence of our bread and butter; to this point 
it comes at length. 

The vote upon the amendment of Mr. Francis being called for, was 
taken, and the amendment adopted. 

Mr. Barbadocs moved to re-commit the resolution — motion lost. 

Mr. Ferguson moved to adojit the resolution as amended. 

The vote was taken with the following result : — Ayes, 27 ; Noes, 29. 

Kesolution No. 5 being read, was, on motion of Mr. Xewby, rc-com- 
mittcd, for the purpose of altering its phraseology. 

Resolutions 6, 7. and 8, were also rc-committed. 

Resolutions 9, 10, 11, and 12 were read and adopted. 

Resolution No. 13 was again read, pending a motion to adopt. 

Mr. Newby said — " I hope this resolution will be re-committed, and 
the Committe instructed to erase the word " Mulatto," from it. Such 
a word ought not to be used in applicat'on to any class of men ; it is of 
Spanish origin,, false in its signification, referring, as it does. 'to the 
mule. If it simply means cross mixture, the word will apply with equal 
propriety to the mixture among other divisions of the race, without a 
drop of African blood in their veins." 

Mr. Townsend said — " I do not perceive, in the remarks of my friend, 
Mr. Newby, any good practical reason for discarding the word " Mu- 
latto :" it is commonly used to designate a class-;, the public are fami- 
liar with it, and so are we : as generally used no opprobium is intended, 
besides it is the term used in the Statute ; to have it erased from the 
Statute, is, indeed, the object for which we are laboring. I trust this 
resolution will be adopted as it is." 

The.hour of 2 o'clock having arrived, the Convention adjourned to 4 
o'clock. 

J. B. Sanderson. ^ 

F. J. Vosburgh, > Secy's. 

S. Howard, j 



48 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

eECOyt) PAY. 

At 4 o'clock the President called the Convention to order, and prayer 
•w'as offered by the Chaplain. 

Minutes of the Morning Session read and approved. 

Resolution No 13, of the scries, reported by the Business Committee, 
pending at the adjournment of the Morning Session, again read. 

Mr. Henry moved its adoption— carried. 

J. H. Townsend moved that Mr. Isaiah Gibbs, of Placer county, be 
invited to take a seat in the Convention as a member — motion adopted. 

The scries of resolutions presented by Mr. S. Howard, at the Forenoon 
Session were taken up, on motion of J. Hubbard, and referred to the 
Business Committee. 

Mr. P. Anderson asked leave to read a series of resolutions — granted. 
Mr. Anderson's resolutions related to the establishing, conduct, and 
support of a State Press. 

J. Francis moved that the resolutions of Mr. Anderson be referred to 
the Committee appointed to report upon the subject of a State Press — 
carried. 

Mr. Francis thought it would facilitate business, if gentlemen wishing 
to present resolutions would place them in "the hands of the Business 
Committee, and let them come before the Convention through that me- 
dium. 

Mr. Newby read an article from the Sacramento Spirit pf the Age, of 
December 10th, as follows. 

COXVr.XTIOX OF COLORED MEN. 

This body met yesterday morning in the Seventh street African Metho- 
dist Church, and after electing officers, etc., adjourned until the after- 
noon. Nothing of importance occurred in the last session. Thev met 
again this morning ; there were about one hundred persons in attend- 
ance, and a more decent appearing body of men we have not seen any 
where together. 

Tlie Rev. Mr. Moore, acting as Chaplain, initiated the proceedings 
with ])rayer and the reading of Scripture, making practical application 
of certain passages, by a few piquant remarks as he went along. The 
elocution of the speaker was very distinct and natural, contrasting strong- 
ly with the na.sal mannerism quite common in the ptilpit. 

The article elicited expressions of gratification from several gentle- 
men, and was approved by all. 

Mr. Francis read resolution No. 14, Rrsolreri, That hereafter, all mat- 
ter extraneous and foreign to the three great objects set- forth in the call 
of this Convention be sujipressed. This resolution was adopted. 

Mr. Cieorije AV. Booth presented a resolution as follows: 

Resolved, That this Convention adjourn sine rfj'r, to-morrow, (Thurs- 
day^ afternoon, at 2 o'clock — riot seconded. 

H. M. Collins, chairman of the Committee appointed to examine into 
and report upon the facts in the case of Placerville, in accordance with a 
resolution passed at the Morning Session, presented the following 



49 

BEFOBT. 

In respect to the charges brought against Placerville, your Committee 
beg to say that it is ascertained that the sum of $146 was raised by the 
ladies of Placerville, with the understanding it was to be sent to thfe 
State Executive Committee, to be used by them in carrying out the pur- 
poses of the Convention last year. This money was deposited for securi- 
ty in the hands of Armstcad Pollock, of El Dorado county. 

During the present month, when the people of Placerville met in pub- 
lic meeting to appoint Delegates to attend this Convention, a proposition 
was made to send four Delegates. 

Another proposal was made to take funds from the amount collected 
last year to pay the expense of those Delegates. 

A majority of the citizens decided against this last proposal, and finally 
decided to send none. 

The party in favor of using the $146 being thwarted and disappoint- 
ed, hastily called a meeting on Saturday, Dec. 6th, at the unusual hour 
of 9 o'clock, A. M., got possession of the money, and voted to divide the 
same among the twelve ladies who had collected it, which was done ac- 
cordingly. 

Among those who voted for the division were William Quinn, George 
Anderson, James Butler, F. LawTcnce, J. Smith, C. Smith, J. Moss, P. 
Williams, Ray, Abernethey, etc. 

Messrs. Quinn, Butler, Anderson, and Lawrence, were nominated as 
Delegates. 

Such arc substantially the facts in the -case of Placerville, as interro- 
gated by your Committee : H. M. Collins, E. A. Booth, Richard Hall, 
C. M. Wilson, William H. Thomas. 

The report was accepted, and ordered to be placed on record. 

The Committee on Education was called upon to report. 

X. Henry, chairman of that Committee, stated they were not yet ready 
to report ; he requested that Delegates would give in their statistics, and 
asked for further time. 

Mr. Phelps, of the Finance Committee, presented a resolution ftom 
that Committee. 

Ri'soh-ed. That each Delegate be assessed in the sum of 92 50, to 
defray the expenses of the Convention. 

Mr. Hayne proposed to amend by substituting $4 each. 

Messrs. Francis and Thomas supported the amendment, and Messrs. 
Newby, Moore, and Wilmot opposed it. 

Mr. Henry moved to refer the whole question of the assessment of 
members, back into the hands of the Committee of Finances-carried. 

C. M. Wilson, of the Business Committee, introduced resolution No. 
id, Resoloed, That one Delegate from each county be appointed to col- 
lect funds in his respective county ; said funds to be placed at the dis- 
posal of Ihe State Executive Committee, and that each person so ap- 
pointed by this Convention, be authorized to appoint others in the differ- 
ent precincts to collect funds therein for the same purpose. 

Mr. Townsend proposed to amend resolution 16, and appoint two in 
each county— amendment accepted. 

Mr. Phelps wished to amend still further ; he thought the Convention 
should appoint four in each county. 



50 

Mr. Harper uas in favor of referring this resolution back into the 
hanils of the l{u>iness ('onimittec, with in^jtrvictious. 

Mr. Newby said — " The business Committee arc not compelled to 
report bock resolutions so referred ; they arc often otherwise disposed 
of; we had better act upon this question now." 

Mr. Anderson thoujiht fxentlemen were wasting time in the discussion 
of a matter of so little importance. He moved to lay resolution 16, with 
the ainendniciit of Mr. I'helps. on the table. 

The motion was seconded and carried. 

Mr. T. Detter, in behalf of Mr. Hyer, offered resolution No. 17, Rc- 
solvrd. That this Convention appoint one jierson in each county to dis- 
tribute I'etitions, and direct the circulation of the same for names, to be 
presented to tlie Legislature during the approaching Session. Voted to 
refer to the Business Committee. 

Mr. F. G. Ikirbadoes offered, in behalf of F. Hatfield, the 18th reso- 
lution. *• That we recommend the printing of 1,000 copies of the pro- 
ceedings of this Convention, and that each Delegate be furnished with 
ti^e copies. Referred to the Business Committee. 

George W. Booth moved that a committee of three be appointed on 
publication. 

J. M. Flowers suggested the propriety of appointing five instead. 
\'oted to lay tlie nuitter on the table. 

Mr. Henry offered amotion to a^jpoint a Committee of seven, to prc- 
?ent a report on statistics — motio.i adopted. 

The Chair apj)ointed the following gentlemen: — P. Anderson, E. A. 
Booth. John Buckncr, James Hubbard, David Lewis, Frank Hatfield, 
Minor J. l^rowu. 

Mr. Xewby expressed the hope that the Committee, in making up the 
stati>ti(s of the colored peo])le. would accept no vague and uncertain 
statements : certainly none will be published. 

Mr. Anderson remarked that verbal statements were received last 
year, and when they are reliable, there can be no objection to receiving 
them. 

Mr. Henry said — '* In Tuolumne county we have been particular in 
coUectini: our statistics. Dele^jates and the i)ublic mav relv on their 
correctness when published. 

Mr. (i. W. Booth read a resolution as follows: 

Rrsolriii, That this Convention adjourn sine die. at 3 o'clock, to- 
morrow afternoon, and that we hold but one session to-morrow. It was 
tat)led. 

Tlie chairman of the Business Committee again reported resolution 
No. 17, of Mr. Hyer. amended with the jiroposition to appoint four per- 
sons in each count v to circulate ]ietitions — voted to adoj)t. 

The Tueetings of Committees were announced, and with benediction, 
the Convention adjourned to Thursday morning. 

J. B. Sanpfrsox. \ 

F. J. VosniKoii, ^ Secy's. 

S. H0"\VARP, ) 



51 



THIRD DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. 

MOKXINO SESSION.— DtC. llXH, 1856. 

At 10 o'clock Prcsirlent Ilall called the Convention to order. 

The XlXtli rsalra was read, and prayer offered hy the Chaplain. 

The Rules of the Convention being called for by R. II. Hull ; they were 
read by the Secretary. 

The Cliairnian of the Business Committee reported a series of resolu- 
tions, as follows : 

Rpsolrcfl, That we recommend the immediate printing of petition heads, 
to be furuishotl to the members of the Convention. 

W/iere(i!i. The Constitution of this State denies us the right of suffrage, 
the only safogunrd of a free people, and 

IVhcrcas, We believe such a course is not only unjust, proscriptive and 
cruel, but incdiisist'Mit with tlie spirit of our Constitution, based, as it is, 
upon the doctrine that all men are created free and equal ; therefore 

Rcsolrc'l, Tint we will use all lawful means in our power to secure the 
abrogation of the jirovision which deprives us of this right. 

Rcsolrrd, That as a means of elevating themselves, we recommend to 
the colored people of California, the engaging in agricultural pursuits ; 
also, the cultivation of a knowledge of tlie arts and sciences, believing it 
would tend to di-sipate prejudice and proscription, V)y establishing the 
fact of our ability to compete with our oppri-ssors in those branches re- 
quiring practical skill, ingenuity, and high intelligence. 

i?c,s-n/c(v/, Tliat we deprecate the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, 
and the practice of gambling, and rccomiuend the adoption of some means 
calculated to .-uppross those vices, believing they tend to degrade andim- 
j>overish th(i<e wlio indulge in them. 

On motion of Mr. (i onion, the report was accepted. 

Voted upon the motion of Mr. Geo. W Booth, to ado})t, seriatim. 

First section, No. 1'.), adopted, on motion of G. W. Booth. 

Second section, the Preamble and Resolution Xo. 20, adopted on motion 
of W. H. Thomas. 

Tliird section, '20th resolution, adopted on motion of F. R. Carter. 

Fourth section, resolution No. 21, on motion of J. M. Flowers, was 
ado])ted. 

Fifth section, adopted on motion of W. H. Hall, of El Dorado. 

Of Preamble and Resolution No. 20, N. Henry is author ; of 21 and 
22, J. M. Flowers. 

The rei)ort having been adopted, J. J. Moore expressed him.self as much 
gratilied at the progress the Convention had made in the adoption of so 
many excellent resolutions ; the only thing he regretted was, tnat resolu- 
tion No. 22 had not Iieen couched in language more strongly condemna- 
tory of intemperance''and gambling among the colored people ; he felt 
deeply, and hence expressed himself in emphatic language when speaking 
of these cviN. He hoped the time would soon come when they would be 
eradicated from amongst us. 

F. G. Barl)a(loes, Chairman of the Finance Committee, reported pro- 
gress. Finance Conmiittee instanced on motion of H. M. Collins to adopt 
such measures to raise funds for the expenses of the Convention as tbcy 
deem for best. 



52 

The report of a Committee on a State Press being called for, W. H. 
Newhy, chairman of that committee, stated that they were uot ready to 
report. 

Coinniittcc to report upon the subject of Education called for : Mr. 
llenrv, its chairman, said the committee had not completed its rejwrt. 

Mr. Townsendthoiij^ht as the committee were not ready with their report, 
it would be a waste of time simply to introduce a resolulion at this stage. 

The President docided that it was Mr Henry's right to read the reso- 
lution, being gerniain to the subject given to the committee to report upon 
to tiie Convention. 

Mr. Newl)y — Is the resolution a part of the report of the Committee on 
Education ? 

Mr. Henry — Yes ; I have put the resolution in the hands oi the Busi- 
ness Committee ; I liope it has not been lost ; the friends may deem me 
ultra, but the resolution embodied the views of my constiti\cnts, and if 
not carried out, I desire to have them briefly and, 'a that way, pre- 
sented l)cfore this Convention, if for no other purpose than to send an ex- 
pression of opinions thereon. 

Mr. C. M. Wilson presented the resolution of Mr. Henry, which con- 
tained a suggestion touching the propriety of securing, at an early day, 
the purchaso of a portion of the public lands for the erection of a College 
and Maimal LoI)or Schools thereon, for the benefit of the colored people. 

Mr. Goo. Miller moved the adojition of the resolution. 

Mr. Henry said : — Bcfofe the resolution is disposed of, I desire to make 
a few remarks. jH'rtaining, to the Committee on Education ; the reason 
the Committee have not reported is, they have been unal)Ie to command the 
necessary statistics ; we early proposed a resolution that delegates from 
the counties collect and bring in the retiuired information ; let the i)ublic 
see the facts ; the numbers, the business, the ta.xes, and the general claims 
of onr people ; let the facts go out to tlie confines of the State ; it would 
remove jirejudice from the minds of the whites, and encourage the colored 
l>eople. In this early point of the history of our State, we shoidd com- 
mence efforts to secure to our children the advantages of education. It 
is a source of pride ami eiiconragenicnt to me, that we have now amongst 
us men of talent and education, who have enjoyed the l)enefits and honors 
ofOberlin. Why sliould we not have an Oberlin here, in this State? There 
is now no scliool of tliat cla.ss ; is it a reason we should have none ? 

Sir, I may be thought e.xtravagant and ultra, but I have labored for 
this, and hope to see the day when I shall be permitted to assi>t in laying 
tiie first -tone in the foundation of such an institution ; what soimitortant 
in, and necessary to our elevation, as education ? We have set-n and felt a 
thousand times this fact, this sentiment ; here are men of edncation, who 
have settled in California pe -manently ; they are taxed : — 

Mr. Xcwby raised a jioint of order ; he thought Mr. Hcnt"y was wan- 
dering fi'im the points of the resolution. 

Mr. Henry : — I dont wish to take up the time unnecessarily ; my argu- 
ment grow V mrrterially out of the resolution. 

Mr. Newl y :— I move to refer this whole matter back into the hands of 
the Committee c^i Education, with iij^tructions to report through the 
columns of tlie Mirror. 

^le^^^s. Wil.<on and Hubbard also thought that the best \yay to present 
the snlijeet to the pooi>Ie, in detail, and with the statistics. 

The vote being called for upon Mr. Newby's motion to refer the subject 



53 

to the Committee on Edacation, with instructions, etc., — the motion was 
lost. 

Mr. Gbo. Miller movec' *.he adoption of Mr. Henry's rcsolotion. 

Pending this resolution Mr. Townsend said : — I am sorry to see such a 
visionary and ifflpracticable scheme thrown into the Convention,' only cal- 
culated to divert the attention from the particular object to promote which, 
^e have convened. 

Colleges and Manual Labor Schools, are excellent things in themselves, 
and it is well enough to discuss their merits at the proper time and place, 
but what have we to do with them now ? Why lug in such matters as the 
Oberlin College ? What have we to do with anything like a College in our 
present circumstunces ? These are such institutions as are required l)y a peo- 
ple surrounded by the conditions of an old settled and well regulated so- 
ciety, with wealth, leisure, inclination, and the demand for high culture. 

The proposal to establish a College proposes also, that those whom it is 
to benefit, have advanced beyond and above the endowments of public 
iK'hools. 

Sir, we are not able to sustain the cost of building a College ; the pe- 
cuniary embrirra.<sineuts which hung over C^berf n, like a dead weight, for 
years, should deter us here from attempting such a scheme, in the present 
circumstances. 

Mr. Wilson doubted a general statement of Mr. Townsend as to the cost 
of Oberlin College. 

Mr. Townsend : — The gentleman is a graduate of Oberlin, and natu- 
rally feels, at remarks touching his ' alma mater ; ' although I have not 
beoii to that institution, I know something of its cost : It cost, at least, a 
loillion of dollars. 

The whites arc now trying to establish a college, but, with all their ef- 
forts they cannot succeed at present ; how much less are we likely to suc- 
ceed ? It is folly for us to talk of it. Let us tiist secure the removal 
from the Statute Book the law which deprives our children of comm6a 
schooling, and get them into the Common Schools. I feel as deeply inter- 
ested in the education of our children, and in the high intellectual culture 
of our pvoi)le as any on^ ; but this proposition I hold to be utterly im- 
practicable at present, and I hope it will not be adopted. 

Mr. Wilson : — I differ from the gentleman who has just spoken ; hfe 
does not appear to underst'and thesjiirit and purport of the resolution, nor 
the motives of the party who offered it. We do not ask that immediate 
measures be taken to carry out the views of the resolution — we do not 
expect this. The object was to get an expression, us a part 6f the report of 
the Committee on Education ; if the Convention thought favorably of it, 
they would, l»y their approval, initiate the subject. 

Mr. Lewis said — In some respects I agree with Mr Uenry, and I was 
pleased at the general tenor of his remarks ; but, as in the present cir- 
cumstances of our condition it Is evidently impossible to carry out such an 
enterprise, I liope the rt;solution will not be adopted. 

Mr. Gordon moved to lay the subject matter on the table — carrif d. 

Mr. R. Hall moved to suspend thi 8th rule, relating to the time allotted 
to si)eakers. 

Mr. M. S. Haynes, to bring the question more formally beforetlre Con- 
vention, presented the following Preamble and Resolution : 

Whereas, Much useless discussion has arisen upon trivial subjects, there- 
by retarding the proper business of the Convention, therefore 



54 

Rrsolrrd, That no person shall be ullowcil to speak longer thau five 
niiiiutt'-;, nor more than twice upou the same subject, witliout spjecial per- 
uiissioii from the house. 

This rtsoliitioi\ iv;is adopted with but few disseutinp^ votes. 

Mr. Hall, of Kl Dorado, moved that the Sij^te Executive Committee 
be called upon to make their report. — Carried. 

Mr. TowiiMiid, Cliairman of the State Execi/tive Committee presented 
ft verbal rcjiort. 

Mr. Newl)v asked if the forep-oiiiix was to be regarded as the official re- 
port of the Kxeeutive Committee ? Is this all we are to get from them ? 
if so, then the Committee have been greatly remiss in their duty. 

It derulves upon this Convention to appoint a new Kxeculive Commit- 
tee ; that new Committee, when appointed, should receive the books and 
papers from the hands of the old, as a chart by which, to some extent, 
they are to I;e regulateil in future efforts, in proper conditiou. It is due 
the Connnittee that it should have a more formal report. 

Mr. Townsend ."-tateil that the books of the Comnuttee were in the pos- 
session of the Recording Secretary, Mr. E. V. Duplex, of Marysville ; 
tliat much to the regret of all, and the disapj)oiutment of the Committee 
c.-;jH'cially, he had not attended the Convention. 

Mr. lKirl)ailoes moved that a dispatch be immediately sent for the books 
of the Executive Committee. 

Mr. Aiider.^on thought the report was satisfactory ; as a member of the 
Executivjf Committee be would defend it. If the motion to .send a dis- 
patch for the books was intended as a reflection upon that re[)ort, he was 
oppo.<ed to the motion. 

Mr. Hall, of El Dorado : — It will be impossible for us to proceed to the 
appointment of a new Committee uidess we have a detailed report of the 
action of the old. 

W. H. Tliomasdid not see why the Executive Committee should hesi- 
tate aljout havinir the books examined. The report of Mr. Townsend is 
well eaomrh as far as it goes, but it is not i)ri>cticuble enough. 

Mr. Moore thought Mr. Anderson mistaken in the motive.^ of those wlio 
are in favor of s.-nding for the books ; it is not that we are 'dissatisfied 
witli the management of the Committee — they have ilone well. We had 
looked forward to their report, before this Convention, as one of the most 
important. That which wi^ presented verbally was good, but let us now 
see the records. 

.Mr. Harper moved to lay this subject on the table. — Carried. 

The vote was then taken ui)on the motion of Mr. Barbailoes to send a 
dispatch for the IJooks of the Executive Committee, and the motion was 
carrieti. The following letter having been received by one of the Secre- 
taries, from Mrs. Jane R. Fortie, of Placerville, was ordered read : 

Pl.\cervii,le, Dec. 0th, ISoG. 
Mn. S.xNPKit-os : — I have felt it to be my duty to f)rward to the Stoic 
Executive Committee, through you, th.e projtortion of the S146 belong- 
ing to the Committee, which was paid to me by Mr. Quinn. In send- 
ing it I hope 1 have done my duty. I am not able to say anytiiiug 
about the rest of the money. The amount paid to me, and which I send 
is 811. In addition, I send one dollar as a slight contribution to tho 
cause, making S12. 

Yours for the cause, Ja.se 11. Fortte. 



55 



This letter was, by a vote of the Convention, ordered to be placed 
among the proceedings. 

Mr. Geo. Miller moved that the thanks of this Convention be tendered 
to Mrs. Fortie for her just and honorable conduct in the matter of the 
funds collected at Placerville for the State Executive Committee. The 
motion was unanimously adopted — the Delegates rising in their seats, 
voted that the Secretary inform Mrs. Fortie of the receipt of her letter 
with the money, and the action of the Convention upon the same. 

An expression of thanks was tendered the ladies of Sacramento for 
their proposal to assist the " Mirror." 

Minutes of the last meeting again called for and read by the Secretary. 

Voted to take up the subject pf appointing persons to circulate petitions; 
four in each county, according to resolution, No. 17, and proceeded to 
to ajipoint as follows : — 



Amador County— D. Wills, W. 
J. Bird, Mr. Kenedy. 

Alameda Comity — "William Rich, 
Isaac Flood, John Peterson. 

Butte Cotmty—W. H. Holmes, 
Peter Blackstone, James Allen, R. 
Tilghraan. 

Contra Costa County — Matthias 
Cooper, Wilson Freeman. 

Calaveras County — G. Brooks, 
William Hough. 

El Dorado County — A. Collins, 
H. W. Hall, E. R. Phelps, F. Hat- 
field. 

Los Angeles County — Thomas J. 
Ricks. 

Marin County — Aaron Sisco, I. 
Morton. 

Merced County — Manuel Quivas. 

Mariposa County — Stephen Hil- 
man, Joseph Adams, L. A. Munroe. 

Napa County — H. M. Penning- 
ton, Jacob Sinclair, E. Halton. 

Nevada County — Jordon Case- 
Icy, James H. Hubbard, Edward A. 
Booth, Emory Waters. 

Placer County — James Howard, 
Isaiah P. Gibbs, Joseph G. Under- 
wood, Dudlop. 

Sacramerito County — J. B. Star- 
Mr. Barbadoes referred to a remark of Mr. Townsend, respecting the 
conditions of the petitions last year, when sent to the Executive Commit- 
tee, and offered a resolution, as follows : 

Resolved, That this Convention request those who circulate peti- 
tions for signatures to be presented to the Legislature, to forward the 
same to the Executive Committee in as clean and proper condition as may 
be practicable. 



key, David Lewis, Thomas Detter, 

F. G. Barbadoes. 

San Francisco County — W. D. 
Moses, George W. Gordon, M. W. 
Gibbs, H. M. Collins. 

San Joaquin County — W. C. 
Patrick, Rev. M. Campbell, Wm. 
Robinson, Samuel B. Hyer. 

Sierra County — John Black, D. 
Brown, J. J. Butler. 

Stanislaus County — T. W. Bur- 
gess. 

Sonoma County — Elisha Banks. 

Shasta County — J. J. Pindall, 
E. D. Vincent, Charles AV. Hall, 
Thos. Thomas. 

Siskiyou County — Samuel Ku- 
nee, George M. Johnson, Benja- 
min Franklin, Nathan Furbcrt. . 

Santa Clara Count y-^A\iicd J. 
White. 

San Mateo County — R. Hall, 
Thos. Ferrester. 

Tuolumne County- — H. T. Smith, 
R. Banks, J. D. (iuillard, A. Old- 
ham. 

Trinity County — J. D. Milling. 

Yuba County — E. H. Duplex, 

G. R. Symes, J. Francis, A. Jack- 
son. 



56 

Mr.Townsend seconded this resolution, and said : — It is desirable in 
circulating petitions, to secure the names of those who are esteemed our 
best men. There are names that have but little weight, being those of 
persons obscure, and often unknown beyond the immediate circle in which 
they reside. 

In San Francisco we took especial pains, and obtained upwards of 500 
signatures of our most promiueot and influential citizens. The result was 
our petition was received most readily, and most respectfully. 

Mr. Henry : — Are petitions to be signed only by the whites ?. 

The vote was taken upon the the motion to adopt resolution Xo. 24, 
and it was adopted. 

Mr. S. Howard asked leave to make a request of the Convention, viz. : 
That the Convention appoint a time before it adjourns sine die, to give 
him an op})ortuuity to deliver his address. 

Mr. E. R. Phelps moved that Mr. Howard's request be granted. 

The vote was taken upon the motion of Mr. Phelps, and the President 
declared the motion negatived. Mr. Phelps doubted the decision ; vote 
re-taken with the following result : — Yeas, \S ; ^ays, 27. 

Resolution No. 25 was presented by T. Detter, as follows : 

Resolved,^ That those persons appointed under the 17th resolution to 
circulate and obtain signatures to the petitions, be instructed to send them 
in to the State Executive Committee by the 20th day of January, 1857. 

Mr. Better's resolution was unanimously adopted. 

Mr. G. W. Booth renewed the motion which he proposed yesterday af- 
terooon, that a committee of three be appointed on publication. The motion 
was seconded. Mr. Town&end proposed to amend by appointing five. 
Amendment accepted, and the motion to appoint adopted. 

The Chnir subsequently announced the following as a Committee on 
Pablication : — J. B. Sanderson, J. J. Moore, J. H. Townseud, G. W. Gor- 
don, W. II. Ncwiiy. 

It was niovid \<\ Mr. E. A. Booth, that a committee of three be ap- 
jiointrd to prepare an an address to the colored people of this State, upon 
tlio subjects of Agriculture and Miuiug, and the benefits to be derived 
from the same. This motion was amended, at the suggestion of Mr. 
Francis, who proposed five on the committee, and was adopted. 

The Chair appointed the following gentlemen : — Messrs. J. Francis, E. 
A. Booth, S. B. Hyer, E. D. Vincent, and J. Hubbard. 

Mr. Henry presented a Kotion, that a committee of five be appointed 
to prepare an address to the white people of California. 

ilr. Francis proposed' to amend by striking out the word "white." 

Mr. Phelps was opposed to the amendment, he said : — "Why have we 
met in this Convention ? To adopt measures to secure a redress of onr 
grievances. It is to the whites who have passed the laws which oppress 
us. Why then should we not address ourselves to them ? As we desire 
they especially should know our opinions and our wishes. Let this word 
be retained. 

Mr. Better : — A resolution has already been adopted, in which similar 
language is used in reference to appealing to the whites ; and yet it is 
proposed to strike the A-ord out of Mr. Henry's resolution, to be consis- 
tent the Convention should reconsider, and throw out a former resolution. 

Mr. Anderson favored the amendment of Mr. Francis. He was gene- 
rally opposed to the use of such words when speaking to the people. Let 
us, said he, claim to be men, neither more nor less, and when asking that 



57 

jastice be done* us, as we contemplate asking at the hands of the people 
of jCalifornia, let not the word white be retained in the connection. 

Mr. E. Waters : — It is essential to a good understanding of the mat- 
ter, that, in an address to the public generally, we should retain this 
word ; we want to appeal to to the whites specially, to let them know we 
mean something definite. They have got the power ; we know it — they 
know it ; we appeal to them as whites, to use that power beneficently to- 
wards as ; we must appeal to them as superiors. 

The President announced that the hour of adjournment had arrived, 
and benediction having been pronounced, the Convention adj jurned until 
afternoon. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

THIRD DAT. 

Met at 4 o'clock. President Hall in the Chair ; prayer was offered by 
the Rev. Emory Waters. 

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. 

The subject of Mr. Henry's motion to appoint a Committee to pre- 
pare an address to the white people of California, was taken up, with 
Mr. Francis' proposed amendment to strike out the word " white." 

Mr. Henry thought it proper to designate the persons addressed. 

Mr. Townsend proposed as an amendment to Mr. Francis' amendment, 
the following resolution : 

Resolvedy That the State Executive Committee, be authorized to pre- 
pare an address io the citizens at large of this State — setting forth the 
true character and position of the colored people of California. 

Mr. Ferguson thought the resolution of Mr. Townsend could not be 
accepted, ih order, as an amendment ; but as a substitute, it could : he 
read from Jefferson's Manuel, to illustrate. 

Mr. Newby did not agree with Mr. Ferguson : he thought the lan- 
guage of Mr. Jefferson, upon the point speculative, indefinite and unsat- 
isfactory. 

Mr. Moore thought it better to retain the word white. 

Mr. Townsend opposed its retention ; we have met as a convention of 
colored men, and there will be, no doubt, in the public mind, as to whom 
we address. He hoped no more time would be consumed in discussing 
a word. 

The vote was taken on the motion to adopt Mr. Francis' amendment, 
and was lost. 

Mr. Phelps moved the reference of the subject proposed in Mr. Hen- 
ry's motion, to the State Executive Committee, with instructions to pre- 
pare an address to the white citizens. 

Mr. Phelps' motion was adopted by the following vote : — yeas, 27 ; 
noes, 24. 

The Committee appointed on the subject of a State Press, presented 
the following, prepared by Mr. Ferguson : 

BEPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON A. STATE PRESS. 

As consolidation of interest and oneness of purpose are the surest 



58 

guarantees of success, the Committee, to whom was referred the duty 
of rejH)rtinj; the best mode of conducting a State Press, beg leave to 
report the following : 

first. That the Mirror of the Times be adopted as the State Organ 
of the colored people of California. 

Srrond, That its size be reduced one-fourth. 

Third, That it be under the immediate control of the State Execu- 
tive Committee, ami be supported by the General Fund. 

Fourth, That the Executive Committee have plenipotentiary powers 
to levy sucli contributions on the people of the different counties in pro- 
rata to the populaticm of the respective counties, as may be necessary 
for tlu> successful jnihlication of the paper. 

Fifth, That tlie financial aflairs of the paper, both in receiving and 
di<bursini;. be wholly under the control of said Committee, or such per- 
sons a-^ they may select for that purpose : said Committee at all times 
responsible to the source whence they derive their authority lor the 
jjronijit and faithful ]ierformance of the functions of their office. 

Sirlli. T!ie place of jniblication shall be San Francisco, — tlie periods 
of ]m!)lication, weekly. 

Sirnith, There shall be one general editor, and one associate, located 
in the place of ])ulilication, whose salaries shall be respectivdv seventy 
five dollars per month. 

F.iiihth, Till" Committee sliall have power to ajtjioint corri-sponiliug ed- 
itors in iliir-reiit seetions of the State, as tlieir discretion m;iy suggest, 
whiise liihiuw shall he arerediti'd as *• labors of love." 

yinlh. Till' financial condition of the jviper shall be published in the 
Mirror, (piarterly ; and all monies received either from subscribers or pe- 
cuniary contributions, be accredited weekly in the same. 

Data. Tlie Committee find the cost of publishing the Mirror 
t>J thi- Tini-'s. in its present size, (exclusive of the pay of ed- 
itor- to be. ])er month ' 8200 00 

Allowing one hundred dollars each to the Editors 200 00 

Kent of t)tficc-i. fuel, lights, stationary, vkc, per month 2j OC 

Total, per laonth S425 00 

Reducing the size of paper one-fourth 60 00 

Making cost of the paper so reduced $365 00 

Account Debtor per Contra, Estimating the reliable circula- 
tion of tiie paper at 500 copies per month, at 40 cents per 

month will yield 8200 00 

Profits from advertisements, local notices, 6ic 75 00 

.\cco\mt credit $275 00 

The al'ove estimate leaves a deficit per month of 90 00 

Or per annum of 1,080*00 

All of whieli i- res]iectfully submitted. — Accepted. 

Mr. TI(?nry moved to adopt the report by sections, — carried. 

The first section being again read, pending a motion to adopt, Mr. 
Anderson said : Tliis Convention ought to assume the ownership and 
responsibility of sustaining the Mirror, as the first step, and then take 



59 

the entire control of its financial affairs, and see to it, that this depart- 
ment is properly conducted. 

Mr. Ferguson : — In making this report, wc seek the public good, 
Mr. Anderson is right in proposing caution : look well into the nlan 
before you adopt. In regard to the conductors of the Mirror, thus far, 
their characters and their management have been above reproach ; let us 
place a proper estimate upon them. "\Vc often fail in our cflurts, from 
distrust of our leaders : let us presume them honest, at leart, until they 
prove otherwise. A continual fear and suspicion is our bane : either let 
us sustain and uphold the hands of those, who, possessing ability, a 
generous love for. and devotion to the right, are giving themselves to 
labors fur our good, or cease our complaints against tlic popular wrongs 
of which we arc victims : cease to meet in C'onventi()n to devise plans for 
their removal, or elsewhere to parade our professions of anxiety to be- 
come a free and res])ectcd people. 

Mr. Anderson : — It was not my intention to impugn the motives or 
character of any one. I have all confidence in those gentlemen who 
have had control of the Mirror ; what I want, is. that this Convention 
of the people, will decide to take the pajier as their own. At present it 
has neither father or mother ; it is an orphan ; let this Convention adopt 
and beconie its foster parents, and jirovide for its pernument maintain- 
ance. .Mr. .Xiul'-rson jiroposed an anuMuhnent, i. c, that this Conven- 
tion assume the proprictorshij) of the Mirror oft/ir Times, and at once 
a(lo])t mcas\ires to raise the nu-ans to carry that resolution into effect. 

Mr. Collins : — It was the expectation of the J'wblishing Canimittee 
when they eoTununiced the pap'-r, that it would, at length, come into the 
possession- of the ]>eople. 

Mr. E. A. Booth agreed with Mr. Anderson's resolution, and thought 
it the better way for us to become possessors of the paper, and then go 
to work and accomplish the details. 

Mr. E. "Waters : — The information just communicated, is new to me : 
I did not know the originators of the paper meant it should become the 
property of the people through this Convention. AN'hat arc we to pay ? 
what new taxes are to be imposed upon our people ? if my constituents 
agree with you, they will go to the bed-rock to sustain you. 

Mr. Wilson called for the question on the amendment as proposed by 
Mr. Anderson. 

Mr. Townsend thought the amendment was sabstantially the same 
thing as the 1st Section proposed by Mr. Ferguson : it is perha])s a little 
more definite. Now, as to the facts in regard to the Mirror, it has never 
yet been made to pay expenses. Established in some haste, from the 
convictioii that such an instrument was imperatively necessary, up 
to the present, all the means which have been received, have been paid 
over to the printers. But this state of things cannot last : from the first, 
we have ex])ectcd cflicicut aid from the people, whose cause it was estab- 
lished to advocate. 

At the Convention last year, a Committee was created to report on 
the propriety of establishing a press ; the Mirror is the efiect of the 
causes, or necessities of our condition in this State as intimated in the 
report of that Committee. ; necessities which are demanding our atten- 
tion more forcibly every day. 

The colored people, resident in California, must represent themselves; 



60 

we wish now to know, — will you assume the Mirror 1 "What we have 
done as its publishing committee, as its editors, has been done freely : 
we have desired and still desire to see this enterprise succeed, and are 
willinfT to do what we can to promote its success : let the people now 
decide what they will do with it. 

Mr. Harper : — I think the Mirror is a very important instrument ; it 
should not be permitted to go down by any possibility. Let us nothur- 
rv over this subject. I am in favor of the Ist Section, and in order to 
give ourselves time for a fuller consideration of the subject, hope it will 
be referred again to the Committee. 

Mr. W. U. Moses : — I rejoice at this manifestation of interest in the 
paper. I have labored to extend its circulation, believing it was accom- 
plishing a good work. Somewhat acquainted with its financial condi- 
tion, I can testify td' the correctness of Mr. Townsend's statement ; that 
it has been expensive and sometimes burthensome to a few. The ladies 
of San Francisco, have lately come to the rescue : they have formed a 
Mirror Association, and are aiding in keeping it alive ; and for their ef- 
forts, they deserve great credit. 

Mr. Newbv : — It is true, an association of ladies has been formed in 
San Francisco, but their aid is necessarily uncertain : a permanent means 
of support is required. It is not only the labor of the composition and 
pressman that must be compensated, but the time, talent, and labors of 
its editors : these cannot be given. As for San Francisco, with a large 
population of colored people, she has not contributed as liberally to- 
wards the support of the paper as we anticipated. Inland localities 
have dnnc more in proportion to numbers : the question now is, shall the 
Mirror live r 

The vote was taken upon the adoption of the amendment proposed 
by Mr. Anderson, and it was carried. 

The question recurred upon the adoption of the 1st Section as amend- 
ed, and it was adopted. 

2ud Section of the report was read : a motion being maile to adopt it, 
Mr. Phelps said that he was sorry that a proposition was made to re- 
duce the size of the Mirror : he was for progressing and not for going 
back. He was poor, but felt willing to make a sacrifice rather than have 
the size of the paper cut down. 

Mr. Xcwby : — I would like to have the present size retained, but 
this cannot be : not- alone its permanency, but the life of the Mirror is 
in danger. Let us secure that, and place it upon a firm and healthful 
basis. If this paper were to fall, it would be a disgrace to us ; who 
would not regret and mourn such an event ? I am not generally very 
sanguine, and even now have my fears, 

Mr. Fer^^uson proposed as an amendment to the 2nd Section, that the 
determination of the question of the size of the paper be left to the Ex- 
ecutive Committee. — amendment adopted. 

3d Section of the report read. Mr. Wilson made a motion to adopt, 
pending which, Mr. E. A. Booth said, it will be better to create a Spe- 
cial Committee, independent of the Executive Committee, to attend to 
the financial affairs generally of the paper. 

Mr. Ferguson said — As the author of the report, I will state the 
meaning; of this section. "We presume the Executive Committee will 
appoint, from among their own number, a special committee, to whom 



61 

will be assigned the responsibility of devising ways for the management 
and sustainment of the paper. 

Mr. Francis said— It will be a disgrace to let the Mirror of the Times' 
go down ; how far our constituents will sustain us in this action I can- 
not say ; it is certain that our friends of San Francisco deserve great 
credit for their enterprise and energy ; I take pride in according it on 
all proper occasions ; now that we have adopted this child, let us assume 
the duties of a parent, take it by the hand and lead it to the Goddess of 
Liberty, and have it baptized ; for heaven's sake don't let it go down ; 
I trust the people are ready to become its sponsors. 

The hour of Bdjournment having nearly come, Mr. Haynes moved 
that so much of Rule 2d as relates to adjournment of the P. M. Session, 
be suspended — carried. 
^ Moved by Mr. Haynes to extend the hour for adjournment to eight 
o'clock, P. M.— carried. 

Mr. D. Lewis said — I am a friend to the paper, and go for supporting 
it ; the changes we are seeking in the laws for the sake of common se- 
curityof life and property must be effected through it, and as the result of 
an altered public sentiment ; to produce this latter, we greatly need a 
paper ; it seems, then, as clearly my duty to support the paper, as to la- 
bor for my daily bread ; but I do not agree with the plan now before 
us ; I think a better way would be to purchase a press. Have we not 
confidence in those who sent us here ? Let each member pledge him- 
self for his constituents, and thus a sum might be immediately raised, 
placed in the hands of a committee for that purpose appointed, and a 
press at once purchased ; you could employ colored printers ; I know 
there are several whose services could be obtained — now in other em- 
ployment, because they cannot procure business with white printers. 

The Convention took a recess of ten minutes, during which the choir, 
attached to the Church, assisted by several of the Delegates, sang an 
anthen in fine style. 

Resuming, Mr. Wilson proposed a substitute to Section 3d, as follows : 
" The Mirror of the Times shall be placed under the control of a Board 
of Trustees, to be appointed by this Convention." He said — to-morrow 
I shall go in favor of appointing a committee to raise funds for the Mirror. 

Mr. Townsend hoped that gentlemen would endeavor to avoid com* 
plication in their arrangements ; let the machinery be as simple as may be. 

Mr. Ferguson said — Gentlemen may rest assured, that if this paper 
is controlled by '.the Executive Committee, they will use it to promote 
solely the success of the general cause. 

Messrs. Moses and Better were in favor of the Boaxd of Trustees. 

H. W. Hall, of El Dorado, hoped no measure would be urged that 
would work against its prosperity ; as to failure, the moral effect of such 
an event would be hurtful in the extreme. 

Mr. Wilmot said — As a Delegate coming from Michigan Bar, he 
would say for the people of that locality, that they feel a deep interest 
in the continuance and success of the Mirror ; they have done something 
and will do much more for it ; they instructed me to go in favor of 
whatever plan should appear to be right, and most likely to keep it 
alive ; their language was " sustain the Mirror." 

Mr. Haynes offered the following, as amendatory to the substitute 
proposed by Mr. "Wilson, to Section 3d, " The money placed in the 



62 

hands of the Executive Committee shall not be appropriated for the paper, 
but each Delegate shall pledge himself, in a definite, sum in behalf of the 
county he represents for the support of the paper." 

Mr. Moore said — I fear that we are about to organize an intricate 
piece of machinery, and that confusion will be the result of an attempt 
to make it work. You are going to have an Executive Committee and 
a Board of Trustees, each to have power in the management of the pa- 
per ; this will certainly occasion conflict in regard to the expenditure 
of the funds. How much better were it to increase the number of the 
Executive Committee, and give them plenary power and the sole con- 
trol of the paper. Last year you gave them power over the whole busi- 
ness of the Convention. Did they not act wisely and prudently ? Let 
them now, in regard to this scheme, have power to organize all neces- 
sary plans ; what we want is our testimony ; if we get this, we care not 
how ; if the committee are honest, it is all we need ask. 

J. Hubbard' said — I am for the Executive Committee, and have entire 
confidence in them ; but the people ought to feel sufficient interest in, 
to support the paper independently, without having recourse to the 
general fund of the Committee. 

J. B. Saxdebson, \ 

F. J. VosBUROH, > Secy's. 

S. Howard, ) 



FOURTH DAY'S PROCEEDINGS. 

MORXIXG SESSION. DEC. 12tH, 1856. 

President Hall in the chair ; called theConventiou to order at 10 o'clock. 

The 16th chapter of Proverbs was read, and prayer offered by the 
Chaplain. In the absence of the Secretary, who held the minutes of the 
last meeting, the President announced the unfinished business to be the 
motion pending to adopt Mr. Wilson's substitute to section 3d of the re- 
port of Committee on State Press, with Mr. Hayues' amendment to the 
substitute. 

The President begged gentlemen to bear in mind that this is the fourth 
day of the Convention ; he would not have them any less deliberate and 
careful in the disposition of business, but to consult brevity in their s|>eeches. 

Mr. Wilson havmg pbtained the consent of Mr. Haynes, asked leave to 
rithdraw his proposed substitute, with Mr. Haynes' proposed amendment 
to the substitate-^it was granted 

Mr. Francis moved to lay the remainder of the report on the table ; 
the motion not sustained. 

Mr. Collins proposed the following amendment : 

"That no appropriation shall be made out of the funds now in hand ; 
and one-third of all the monies received after the 1st of January, 1857, 
be appropriated to the State Press." — The amendment was accepted. ■• 

Mr. Barbadoes oBeroda substitute to the amendment of Mr. Collins, as 
follows : — " That a State Central Committee of one from each county be 
appointed, who shall assume the direction of the Mirror ; act as its agents, 
solicit subscribers, raise funds, and direct its general financial affairs. — 
Amendment not sustained. 



63 

Mr. Henry moved to postpone the further consideration of the subject 
of tlie State Press until minutes of the previous meeting were read— carried. 

The Cbairaiiin of the Finance Committee, F, G. Barbadoes, reported 
the contingent expenses of the Convention to be : 

For printing 1000 copies of proceedings 8125 00 

For printing 100 heads of petitions 15 00 

For stationary for use of Convention, 10 00 

For use of Church, 12 00 



$162 00 

Also, that the Committee recommend, in order to raise the above 
amount, that each Delegate be assessed in the sum of 83 00. 

Mr. Barbadoes explained the several items of expense presented in the 
report ; after which, on motion of Mr. Thomas, it was adopted. 

The minutes of Thursday Afternoon's Sesssion were called for, read, and 
approved. 

Third section of the report on State Press was again read, considered, 
with the amendment of Mr. Collins. 

Mr. Ferguson said : — Mr. President, I do not wish to impede the pro- 
gress of this discussion, nor precipitate the vote upon this question with 
indecent haste ; but we have already spent much time upon the third sec- 
tion, and it is to be presumed that the point as to how and whence this 
organ is to get support, is generally understood and decided njKjn ; not 
because it comes from me do I favor it, but because it is important, and 
I think we are all satisfied with the proposition in its present form ; I 
move the previous question. 

Mr. Ferguson's motion was sustained. The previous question was pfut, 
section third, embracing the amendment of Mr. Collins, was adopted with- 
out a dissenting vote. 

Fourth section of report read, and adopted on the motion of T. DuflF. 

Fifth section read ; T. Better moved to adopt — carried. 

Sixth section read ; E. K. Phelps moveil that the blank in this section^ 
as to place of publication be filled with the name of San Francisco ; mo- 
tion adopted. 

Mr. Francis thought the State Press question was absorbing too much 
of the time of the Convention ; the State Press Committee seemed to have 
combined, to drive it through to the exclusion of other important matters. 

Mr. Ferguson wished to act fairly and impartially ; no intreague had 
been practiced in this business. On the question of locating the paper, 
Mr. Newby said : — Although one of its Editors, and Chairman of the 
Press Committee had intimated no partiality as to place. The vote was 
taken on the sixth section, and it was adopted. 

Seventh section read ; Mr. Henry moved that blank in section seventh, 
having relation to the pay of editors, be filled with the sum " seventy-five 
dollars" — accepted. 

Mr. Harper proposed one hundred dollars instead ; Mr. Harper with- 
drew, afterwards, his proposition, 

Mr. Henry thought that according to the report of delegates, our peo- 
ple have not been as liberal in supporting the paper, as was to be expectr 
ed under the present circumstances, and considermg that the Mirror 
will be but a weekly paper, 875 was enough. 



64 

Mr. Ferguson : — As amendatory to Mr. Henry's motion, proposed that 
the following words be inserted in section seventh after the sum 815 ; 
" with power to raise the same to one hundred dollars at any time when 
the resources of the paper will justify it." Section seventh, with Mr. 
llenry's motion and Mr. Ferguson's amendment were adopted. 

Kigth section read ; and adopted on motion of E. A. Booth. 

Ninth and last section read ; and adopted on motion of Geo. W. Mil- 
ler, unanimously. 

A vote was passed tendering thanks to Mrs. Jackson, and the ladies of 
San Francisco, for their eflForts in behalf of the Mirror. 

The Committee on Statistics was called upon to report ; the report was 
presented in a fragmentory and unsatisfactory form. 

Mr. Newby moved to refer back to the Committee on Statistics. 

Mr. Moore thought nothing could be gained by referring ; it is to be 
supposed that the Committee have sought information, but delegates have 
not come prepared with statistics; to collect them hereafter, and place them 
in the hands of this Committee to be combined in a report can hardly be 
expected. 

Mr. Wilson was for referring, because he did not want the report pub- 
lished in its present form. 

Mr. Newby a^sked i>ermission to amend his own motion, by adding the 
words " with instructions, etc." Upon the motion of Mr. Barbadoes, the 
subject matter of the report was laid upon the table. 

Convention, on motion of Mr. Townsend voted to appoint a Committee 
of three, to examine the books, antl audit the accounts of the State Exe- 
cutive Committee. The Chair appointed Messrs. Alex. Ferguson, B. B. 
Young, C. M. Wilson. 

E. R. Phelps moved that the Convention go into Secret Session this 
afternoon between the hours of 4 and 5 o'clock, to hear and act upon the 
Official Report of the State E.xecutive Committee — seconded. Messrs. 
Anderson, Dtiter, Moore and Newby were appointed to the Secret Session. 

Ferguson and Herbert favored it. Mr. Ferguson said ; — I am in favor 
of tlie Secret Session, not because I fear any revelations will be made, or 
action taken, of which we need to be ashamed, but as a matter of policy. 

Mr. Ncwby : — Secret Sessions I oppose, as a matter of principle ; I 
hold them to be antidemocratic in their .spirit and tendency ; they are 
often resorted to when bodies of men, possessing power and means, would 
concoct schemes against the interests and liberties of the people ; the peo- 
ple always detest them, fearing that some rascality is to be done. 

Mr. Furgusou : — Left it be remembered that it is not alone the E.xecu- 
tive Committee of whose action the records speak ; there are others 
to. Secret Sessions are often necessary in democratic and monarchial 
governments, when at war with other nations, thatgoverimient should not 
know their purposes. During the last war, this government hi'ld Secret 
Sessions, decided u^Mjn its measures, and concealed them from the public, 
only communicating them to those who were to carry them into execution. 
What's your Executive Committee for ? For what do you give them 
power and the control of your funds ? Sir I the public must be confent 
to confide in their wisdom and faithfulness, without knowing the details of 
their action. 

Mr. Moore : — My convictions are nevertheless against the propriety of 
the Secret Session. What do we propose to do in it ? As I understand, 
simply to examine the accounts. The people desire to hear the facts, aud 



65 

besides, it will increase their confidence in the Committee. I am, there- 
fore, for art open session, and for letting the people come in. 

W. H. Xewby : — I do not know what q^iestiJns will enter into the de- 
liberations of the Secret Session. Mr. Ferguson says it is policy that 
dictates this proposal. I fear it is more a matter of pride than aught else. 
I am still of the opinion that an open session should be held,|and the facts of 
the action of the Executive Committee communicated to the people ; it 
will stir them to greater earnestness in sustaining the Committee. If 
the Committee have been derelict, let it be seen ; or, if the colored people 
of California have not done their duty — have not come up to their pledges, 
lot it be known. The vote wa;:: taken upon the motion for a Secret Session^ 
and it was carried. 

X. Henry, in behalf of Mr. Robinson, offered the following resolution : 

Resolced, That a portion of the Proceedings of this Convention be 
published in one of the daily papers. This resolution, after being amend- 
ed by a proposal of Mr. Ferguson with the word " provided the paper 
selected publish such proceedings gratuitously." — adopted. 

T. Dotter offered a resolution that a committee of five be appointed to 
examine and decide upon the fitness and propriety of publishing articles 
sent to the " Mirror of the Times" for that purpose. 

J. II. Townsend thought that editors should decide upon the fitness of 
articles sent for publication. 

E. A. IJooth was of the opinion that the editors should not have power 
to suppress at discretion. 

J. J. Moore thought that some power should be established, to which 
appeal can be made when wrong is done to a correspondent, in the matter 
of disposing of his communication ; an editor may be in the wrong, and 
he should be held responsible, when complained of to some authority. 

J. H. Townsend : — I am ."surprised that Mr. Moore should express such 
views. It was proposing to hedge in an editor to ^n extent that uo man, 
with ability and independence necessary to the efficient conducting of a pa- 
per, would willingly be confined. The power to decide upon articles Lb 
commouly exercised by editors. Take the San Francisco "Evening Bullet- 
in," and the course of the lamented James King of Wm. for example : 
while he lived, one of the most independent of men in the State ; his 
press one of the most liberal, opened freely for communications upon all 
subjects of interest to the people. Did he admit all the articles he received? 
Unquestionably not ! It is a mistake to suppose because a man is of good 
character, therefore can write a communication fit to be printed. In the 
multitude of letters and communications an editor is continually receiving, 
he has seldom time to alter and correct that which may be full of faults ; 
he is compelled to decide, ' print or not ; ' often in haste, and in so doing 
may, without design, give offence ; experience is to be trusted, and, iu 
general, the fitness of articles may be ascertained before they are sent to 
be published. 

J. M. Flowers moved to lay Mr. Better's resolution on the table — mo- 
tion carpied. 

Mr. Richard Hall moved that so much of 3d Rule as relates to the 
hour of adjourning the Afternoon Session be suspended, and that the Af- 
ternoon Session of this day be extended to such a time as delegates shall 
deem it proper to adjourn ; seconded by Mr. Newby, and adopted unani- 
mously. 



66 

F. G. Barbadocs asked pcmiission to read a scries of resolutions, 
which had been drawn up and placed in his hands by Mr. Thomas Duff, 
of Miiriposa — granted. Mr. Barbadocs read, 

Rcsuli-ed, That the Delegates be instructed by this Convention, to 
call meetings of the colored people of their respective counties, to con- 
sider upon the best ways of raising funds for the support of the Mirror 
of the Times. 

Resolved, That we heartily endorse the manly stand taken by the 
Mirror of the Times in behalf of our injured and much abused people ; 
and we will do all in our power to mako it worthy of the people it repre- 
sents. 

Resolved, That we approve of the manner in which the Mirror has 
been conducted by its original proprietors : that they have proved them- 
selves capable of making it an honor to the colored people of the State 
of California. 

Resolved, That we recommend as an effective way to raise funds for 
the paper, that each delegate call meetings ic thqir respective counties, 
and form clubs to make donations of such sums as may be agreed upon 
by those composing the clubs. 

Resolved, That the sums donated by the clu')s to the Mirror, be for- 
warded to the Executive Committee monthly, at such times as their mem- 
bers shall decide upon. 

Resolved, That we look upon the Mirror of the Times as a beacon 
light, shining brightly and clearly on the path by which we arc to reach 
that position, that as a free attd intelligent people, we should occupy in 
common w ith our white fellow-cititizens ; showing beyond a doubt, that 
we possess talent, industry and enterprise in our ranks ; and that all we 
want is, the equal enjoyment of those civil and political rights, and 
privileges that are possessed by the whites, and we will stand second to 
no class of people in the American Union. 

The series of resolutions of Mr. Dutf, were, on the motion of Mr. 
Ferguson, adopted Unanimously. 

Mr. George W. Booth asked if the Business Committee was ready to 
report on the resolution of Mr. Hatfield, touching the distribution of 
the proceedings of the Convention, which was, at the Wednesday after- 
noon session, refered to the Business Committee r — Committee not 
ready. 

Mr. Booth proposed a motion, that the pamphlets of proceedings, 
when published, be distributed among the delegates — each one to be 
entitled to an equal share. 

Mr. Newby seconded the motion ; and the vote being taken thereon, 
it was lo.-t. 

Xdjourned to 4 o'clock, P. M. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

FOUBTH DAY. 

Convention met at 4 o'clock. President Hall in the Chair. Prayer 
was offered by Rev. J. B. Handy. 



67 

Committee appointed to examine the books, and audit the accounts of 
the State Executive Committee were called upon for their report. 

The Convention being in secret session from 4 to 5 o'clock, P. M., 
Mr. Ferguson, Chairman of the Examining Committee, read extended 
extracts from the records of the Executive Committee : the read- 
ing being finished, Mr. B. B. Young wished to offer a resolution in re- 
gard to the report ; decided to be premature. 

Mr. Henry remarkcil : — In regard to the report to which we have 
just listened, it has afforded me great satisfaction ; it met his approval 
from beginning to end ; there is a clearness and straightness in it that I 
like. The gentlemen composing the Executive Committee, have acted 
in a manner worthy of the highest praise ; they have made sacrifices such 
as we had no right to expect of them, in acting for the people ; and 
here I may express the hope, that our people will never refuse to sup- 
port this Committee, as long as it may be necessary to continue it, from 
an unwise and unjustifiable want of confidence. 

Mr. Newby moved to adopt the report of the State Executive Com- 
mittee — -carried unanimously. 

Mr. Ferguson read the following resolution, and moved its adoption : 

Rrsfllred, That the colored people of the State of California, through 
their representatives here assembled, tender their heartfelt thanks to the 
members of the State Executive Committee, for the prompt and faithful 
manner in which they have discharged the arduous duties imposed upon 
them by virtue of their office — it was adopted by acclamation. 

Mr. G. W. Booth moved the reconsideration of the vote of yesterday, 
by which a motion relating to the disposal of the pamphlets of proceed- 
ings — was laid on the table. 

Mr. Newby seconded the motion, and it was carried. 

Mr. Francis proposed a motion that the proceedings, when pub- 
lished, be equally distributed among the members of this Convention. 

Messrs. Henry, Townsend and Moore, opposed the motion. Mr. 
Henry thought they should be a source of revenue for the purposes of 
the Convention. He would suggest an amendment, so as to give 8 cop- 
ies to each delegate. , 

Mr. Moore : — Some provision should be made to furnish the Execu- 
tive Committee with extra copies. I move that each delegate shall re- 
ceive 10 copies of the proceedings, and that the remainder be placed 
in the hands of the Executive Committee — this amendment was accept- 
ed, and on motion was adopted. 

Mr. Defter introduced the following resolution, which was seconded 
by Mr. Vosburgh, and un.animously adopted : 

Resolred, That the State Executive Committee be composed of fifteen 
persons — ten of whom shall reside in San Francisco, Sacramento and 
Marysville ; and the other five chosen from the different sections of the 
State. 

Voted, on the motion of Mr. A. G. Dennison, that a Committee of 
five be appointed to nominate a list of names to constitute the State Ex- 
ecutive Committee. 

The Ohair appointed Messrs. R. H^^U, A. G. Dennison, C. M. Wil- 
son. J. J. Moore. E. Vincent. 

Mr. F. J. Vosburgh presented resolution No. 29, as follows: 
Resolved, That the members of this Convention tender their thanks 



68 

to E. P. Duplex, Esq., of Marys^^llc, for the prompt and efficient man- 
ner in which he has discharged the arduous duties of Recording Secre- 
tary of the State Executive Committee for the past year. 

The resolution being seconded, Mr. Ferguson, expressed himself as 
of the opinion, that the resolution pending, had been anticipated by res- 
olution, which the Convention had already adopted. 

Mr. Newby agreed with Mr. Vosburgh, and thought we should des- 
ignate in the case of Mr. Duplex. 

Mr. Townsend : — I hope this resolution will be passed by the Con- 
vention : Mr. Duplex has done well ; it gives me pleasure to testify to 
the efficiency and value of his services, and I am sure that every mem- 
ber of the Executive Committee will respond to it. 

Mr. Ferguson : — I am the last man to attempt to despoil any one of 
well earned laurels. The man of magnanimity who does his duty, feels 
rewarded when his services are acknowledged in a manly way : such a 
man, I believe is Mr. Duplex. Gen. Washington, in his best days, did 
not receive his meed of praise. Were Mr. Duplex here, I think he would 
hold it to be superfluous and invidious, in a case where his associates 
have also well performed their duty. In his place. I certainly would 
not expect it, and though I were grateful to the friends who proposed, I 
would protest against it. 

Mr. Newby : — I feel that I rise at disadvantage after Mr. Ferguson. 
A common soldier does his duty as well as his general ; but does the na- 
tion award no more honor to the successful general, than to the com- 
mon soldier ? Mr. Duplex, as the Secretary of the Committee, has la- 
bored most faithfully — has done a most important work : we look to 
him for full and faithful reports of the doings of the Committee ; had he 
been neglectful of his duty, we could not have told where we arc ; but 
the papers from his hands speak for themselves : they are an honorable 
testimony of his zeal, faithfulness and ability. I would challenge any 
man in this State to produce clearer and better records of the doings of 
a public body, than are presented in the books of the Execntive Commit- 
tee : they are worthy of imitation, and will be an incentive to those who 
may follow in the same path. Public bodies do not overlook these 
points, nor should we : — I trust the resolution will pass. 

Mr. Hubbard spoke in support of the resolution ; when the vote was 
taken, and it was adopted. 

Mr. R. Hall, from the Committee appointed to nominate a list of per- 
sons to constitute the State Executive Committee, reported the follow- 
ing names : — J. H. Townsend, H. M. Collins, M. W. Gibbs, W. H. 
Ncwby. J. R. Sanderson, F. G. Rarbadocs, M. S. Haync, Thomas Dct- 
ter, E. P. Duplex, George R. Symes, R. R. Young, W. H. Hall, Joseph 
J. Underwood, H. T. Smith, Thomas Duff. 

Mr. Ferguson moved that the report of the Committee be adopted. 

Phelps, Flowers, and Henry opposed the adoption ; were in favor of 
substituting two other names for those of Townsend and Ncwby. for the 
reason that their services were indispensable in an other position. 

Mr. Henry said it would conflict with their duties as editors of the 
Mirror. 

Francis and Rooth hoped the names of Townsend and Newby would, 
by all means, be retained. 

President Hall vacated the Chair, (which was taken by one of the 



69 

Vice Presidents,) and said: — We have now reached an important point 
of the Convention, being about to re-form the State Executive Commit- 
tee ; when we shall have adjourned, that Committee will be expected to 
work for you, for all of our people in this State, and certainly it is not 
a work of slight importance to us ; let not the proposition to leave off 
two such men as Townsend and Newby from the Committee, be enter- 
tained for a moment. I feel deeply in, regard to this matter ; if they 
were men of questionable character, that would be just cause for leaving 
them off, but the people of California know them to be able and honora- 
ble men, worthy of their confidence. I do not think their connection 
with the Mirror, will needs lessen the value of their services as mem- 
bers of the Executive Committee ; much as I love my friend Townsend 
and Newby, deeply as I feel interested in the continuance and success 
of the Mirror, let either of them get out of the right way, and that love 
and confidence, with the little support I have hitherto been proud to 
extend to them, shall be withheld. 

Mr. Hubbard said — Of one thing I think it is safe to assure the 
friends, Messrs. Townsend and Newby will not be able to run off with 
the Executive Committee. 

The motion of Mr. Ferguson to adopt the reported list, was carried. 

Mr. F. R. Carter offered resolution No. 30, " That J. H. Townsend 
be appointed the principal and responsible editor of the Mirror of the 
Times." 

Mr. Detter proposed to amend as follows : — That J. H. Townsend 
and "\V. H. Newby be appointed responsible Editors, etc. Better's 
amendment was accepted, and resolution No. 30 was adopted. 

Mr. Ferguson asked permission to read a letter, which had been 
placed in his hands by Mr. Hyer — granted. The letter having been 
read, was, by vote of the Convention, ordered to be recorded among the 
minutes of the Convention. It was as follows : 

The citizens of San Joaquin send greeting to the Convention of color- 
ed men being held in Sacramento. The great objects embraced in the 
call for the Convention meet with our unqualified approval ; and shall 
have, in the struggle to obtain them, our best energies. 

The disgraceful enactments that so cripples us in all that pertains to 
our elevation and happiness should be repealed. Gentlemen, you have 
our co-operation in this glorious struggle ; we hope that measures will 
be adopted, calculated by their wisdom and efficiency to promote all our 
interests, but chiefly the repeal of the Statutes invalidating our testimony 
in Courts of Justice where white persons are parties. This deprivation 
subjects us to many outrages and aggressions by wicked and unprinci- 
pled white men ; by it, prejudice is aroused against us that would not 
exist but for this Statute ; its debasing effects upon the morals of our 
people is evident, in its tendency to crush their aspirations, and thus to 
prevent the full development of those qualities which are the basis of 
high r. oral character. In conclusion, gentlemen, accept our hearty 
good wishes for the attainment of the great objects we have so much at 
heart. In behalf of the people of San Joaquin, 

S. B. Hyeb. 

A resolution respscting the form of Petitions, was presented by Mr. 
Newby. 

Resolved, That the form of the Petitions to be presented to the Legis. 



70 

lature shall be the same as those of last year, with the addition of that 
portion of the late report of the Grand Jury of San Francisco relating to 
Chinese and African testimony. 

Mr. Townsend remarked, that the Executive Committee would be 
careful in the heading of the Petitions ; the experience of last year had 
been instructive to them in that respect. 

Ferguson, Handy, Dctter, Henry and Phelps, opposed the adoption 
of Mr. Newby's resolution. 

Mr. Detter moved to lay it on the table — carried, 24 to 20. 

Mr. Collins moved that the whole matter of the form of the Petitions 
be referred to the Executive Committee. 

Mr. Phelps supported the motion for reference. 

Mr. Newby opposed ; he thought the Convention could as well de- 
cide, and were likely to know as much as the Executive Committee. 

Mr. Townsend thought the reference would save time. 

Mr. Ferguson offered an amendment to the motion for reference, as 
follows : and that they place the words, in conformity with the instruc- 
tions of the Grand Jury of San Francisco, we petition your honorable 
body, <Scc., d:c., at the head of the Petitions. 

Newby thought the proposed amendment contained a statement that 
was not true, in the expression, " In conformity with the instructions, 
&c., &c." 

M. J. B. Johnson was in favor of leaving out of the Petitions all ref- 
erence to the Report of the Grand Jury. 

Mr. Ferguson altered the phraseology of his amendment, so that it 
read — *' In conformity with the late Report of the Grand Jury of San 
Francisco, we petition your Honorable Body," &c., dtc. 

In this form the amendment was accepted, and the motion to refer 
adopted. 

Mr. Better offered a resolution, that J. B. Sanderson prepare the Pro- 
ceedings of this Convention for publication, by the 1st of Januai-y, and 
receive for his services the sum of $40. 

Mr. Gordon proposed as a substitute, resolution No. 31. 

Resolved, That Mr. J. B. Sanderson be requested to prepare, at his 
earliest convenience, the Proceedings of this Convention for publication, 
and that the sum of 850 be awarded him for his ser\'ices. 

Mr. Gordon's substitute was accepted and passed. 

Mr. E. Waters spoke of the school at Grass Valley, referring in com- 
plimentary terms to the teacher of it, and offered a resolution in relation 
thereto. This subject was decided to be irrelevant and out of order. 

M. Ferguson offered a resolution in relation to the Executive Com- 
mittee, ^^z. : " that they have power to expel members." Resolution 
not seconded. 

Mr. C. M. Wilson proposed Resolution No. 32. 

Resolved, That we will use our earnest endeavors in the several coun- 
ties of our residence, to induce our constituents to sustain the pioneer 
of literature among us. 

E. Waters was the author of this resolution ; it was adopted. 

Mr. Vosburgh presented the following : Resolved, That the thanks 
of this Convention are hereby tendered to William H. Hall, Esq.,* 
for the dignified, efficient, and impartial discharge of his duties as Presi- 
dent of this Convention. 



71 

The resolution was adodted by acclamation. Upon its adoption, Mr. 
Hall arose and addressed the Convention in the following speech : — 

Fellow Members of the Convention : 

The high obligations committed to your care, through the confidence 
of your constituents, are about to be diissolved. Your labors, as a rep- 
resentative body, legislating for the advancement of the condition of an 
oppressed people is nearly closed. The record of your proceedings 
stands here for the examination of the critical, and as a comparison with 
the works of any other assemblage that has convened together upon the 
Pacific shores. To many of us the honor of members in a Convention 
have never before been enjoyed, and consequently the want of experi- 
ence in such deliberations was greatly felt ; but where conception failed 
to penetrate great difficulties, the impulses of the heart aroused internal 
sense of our wrongs, and directed our energies to the accomplishment of 
one great end — the right of oath. If evidences of respectability and in- 
telligence, wealth and probity are sufficient guarantees of the priviliges 
we deserve, it will not require much other efibrt to obtain it. It is true 
that the 8pirit of selfishness may for a period retard our progress, but 
the men in this State whose minds are capable of higher sensations, will 
not dedicate themselves to an ignoble work. The age in which we live 
is & progressive one ; the elements of refinement form the basis of all 
well regulated society, and in proportion as any people inculcate and 
disseminate these principles of ci^'ilization, in the same proportion do 
they receive and enjoy its immunities. The time has arrived when we 
must act in accordance with the sentiment which governs other men ; 
not as a nation of menials controlled by arbitrary will, but as a commu- 
nity of equals, participating in every blessing, anH contributing to the 
perpetuity of every honorable avocation. We are not debased on ac- 
count of any repugnance to our complexion, nor are we disfranchised in 
consequence of natural inferiority — hxunan actions are often prompted 
by motives contrary to the elevated spirit of pure virtue, and so long as 
we continue to alleviate the burthens of others, we must expect to wear 
the odium of its conditions. Brethren, we ha^e initiated a great work, 
and it seems to be essential that we must not only be superior in mental 
endowments to those we are to mingle with, but it is also required, that 
we be devoid of other men's vices. Every small folly of our lives, every 
error of judgment, and every thoughtless, intemperate word of speech 
is magnified into positive reasons why we are incapable to enjoy the 
rights we ask. The disadvantages we are compelled to encounter are 
of such a magnitude that almost any other people would be appalled at 
its mere contemplation— deprived of protection for tha safety of our 
families, taxed for the support of education, and vet the doors of the 
common school-house closed against our children ; denied the exercise 
of the elective franchise, and subjected to be governed by laws in which 
we had no hand in framing. Ever)' position of emolument and honor 
that our country has to bestow, our claims as native born citizens are 
overlooked, and the ignorant foreigner or the most degraded American 
citizen is awarded the preference. 

These considerations are humiliating to our manhood, and should 
rouse the latent energies of the mind to activity. In conclusion, let us 
go home, gentlemen, deeply impressed with the necessity of each and 



72 

every one performing the active duties which the subjects we have con- 
sidered demanded. In retiring from amid the excitement of political 
life, we are conscious of having done our duty to God, to ourselves, and 
to our fellow men, and though we feel this self-congratulation, let it be 
remembered that ■without diligence and constant effort, the great meas- 
ures we have matured will be futile in their operations. I would urge 
each one of you to consult and instruct our less favored brothers, both 
colored and white, remove their prejudices in regard to our true condi- 
tion, induce our colored brethren to cease prattling about being the 
equals of our oppressors, until they present the mental, pecuniary, and 
other necessary evidence of being such. Converse with our ignorant 
white brethren, those who despise the poor negro because he is a negro, 
and con\-ince them that their social condition and ours are alike degra- 
ded, and whatever political measures afflict us, are none the less severe 
upon them. Reason and argue with those who hold power within their 
fingers upon the injustice -with which we are treated. Convince them 
of our capabilities in a moral and social point of view. Revert their 
minds back to the days of childhood when neither knew any diflFerence, 
neither felt any compunctions, but when each heart mingled its grateful 
emotions in the reciprocity of innocent amusement. Arouse their 8}Tn- 
pathies in our behalf, because none know us so well as they do. Ap- 
peal to their magnanimity and to their adoration of country, and dis- 
cover if they are content in the enjoyment of their greatness by com- 
pelling us, the equal participators of their troubles, to bear the yoke of 
servitude. Let us be united in acquiring knowledge and wealth ; edu- 
cate your children for farmers, mechanics, and other industrial pursuits ; 
instil within them the glowing pride of their avocations, and the mean- 
ness of menial callings. Teach them to look upwards, onwards, and 
beyond the obeyance of degraded conditions, and by the time we again 
assemble here in Convention, we shall behold results cheering to our 
ambition, -and security to our rights. 

Mr. Hall's speech was frequently interrupted with applaiise. 

Mr. J. B. Johnson introduced resolution No. 34, which was adopted. 

Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be tendered to the 
Vice Presidents, Secretaries, Chapliin, and other officers of the Con- 
vention for the prompt and faithful discharge of their respective duties. 

Mr. Smith of Tuolumne said : — As one of the Vice Presidents, he 
begged to return his Jhanks to the gentlemen of the Convention ; he 
felt it to be an honor that he had been appointod to that office. 

Mr. Thomas made a motion that Mr. J. Howard be now allowed to 
read a portion of his address. Mr. Newby opposed, on the ground that 
it was too late. The question was taken on Mr. Thomas' motion, and it 
was lost. 

F. G. Barbadoes, Chairman of the Finance Committee reported the 
amount raised for the expenses of the Convention. Report adopted on 
the motion of Mr. Ferguson. 

A vote of thanks was tendered the Choir of the church, and a collec- 
tion taken up for the benefit of the Church. The Choir sang an Anthem, 
and benediction being pronounced, the Convention adjourned, sine die. 

J. B. Sanderson, \ 
F. J. Vosburgh, > Secy's. 
S. Howard, J 



73 

Officers of the Convention. 



President. 
W. H. HALL. 

Vict Presidents. 
B. B. YOUNG, 
H. F. SMITH, 
F. G. BARBADOES, 
THOS. DUFF, 
W. H. NEWBY. 

Secretaries. 
J. B. SANDERSON, 
F. J. VOSBURGH, 
S. HOWARD. 

Executive Committee, 

[SAN FKANCISCO.J 

J. H. TOWNSEND, 
H. M. COLLINS, 
M. W. GIBBS, 
W. H. NEWBY. 



[SACRAMENTO CITT.) 

J. B. SANDERSON, 

F. G. BARBADOES, 
M. S. HAYES, 
THOS. DETTER. 

[MARSTVILLI.] 

E. p. DUPLEX, 

G. R. SYMES. 

[SHASTA.] 

B. B. YOUNG. 

[oROVlLLK.] 

W. H. HALL. 

[MICHIGAN BLCFF] 

J. J. UNDERWOOD. 

[COLIMBIA.] 

H. T. SMITH. 

[MARIPOSA.] 

THOS. DUFF. 



Publishing Committee. 



J. B. SANDERSON, 
J. H. TOWNSEND, 
W. H. NEWBY, 



G. W. GORDON, 
J. J. MOORE. 






74 



i=>i=LO OE':H]iDinsr<3-s 



O F TH B 

l| 

I! 

i! 



STATE CONVENTION 



-OF- 



COLOKED CITIZENS, 



r Held In Sacramento on the 25tli, 26th, 27th and 28th of October, iB65^ 



II 



ll 




.<h^'' 



SAN FRANCISCO: 
Printed at the Office of " The Elevator," comer of Sansome and JacksoD Streets. 

1 8 6.6. 



75 



STATE CONVENTION. 



riist Day. 

Pursnant to a call issued by the Execu- 
tive Committee of San Frauciaco, tlie Cou- 
veution met iu the city of Sacramento on 
WedneBduy, October 25th, at 10 o'clock, 
A. M., ill Bethel A. M. E. Church, Seventh 
street. 

The delepates were called to order by 
Mr. K.A. Hall, Corresponding Secretary of 
the San Francisco Execotive Committee, 
and read the following 

Call for the Convention. 
To THE Colored Citee^s op Cauforxl^ — 

Men and Brothers : — You are hereby sum- 
moned to meet in Convention in the City of 
Sacramento, on Wednesday, the 25th dav of 
October next ensuing, to consider and delibe- 
rate on subjects connected with our interest* as 
citizens of this State. 

We hare received hearty and cheering re- 
sponses from Sacramento, Napa, San Jose, 
Marysville, Port Wine, Benicia, and other 
places. 

By order of the Executive Committee, 

R. A. Hali^ 
Corresponding Secretary. 

San Francisco, Aug. 3, I860. 

He then moved for the temporary or- 
ganization by nominating Mr. Wm. H. 
Uall 39 Chairman pro tern. The motion 
was adopted. 

Mr. Hall, on assuming the chair, stated 
the objects for which the Convention was 
called, and hoped that harmonj and union 
of sentiment and action would prevail 
during our ses-sion. He then requested 
Kev. John J. Moore to invoke a blessing 
from heaven on our lalwrs. Mr. Moore 
addressed the Throne of Grace in a ft^;!- 
ing and impressive manner. 

Mr. Hall concluded the temporary organi- 
zation by nominating Philip *A. Bell as 
Secretary pro tern. Carried. 

It Vaa also moved that a committee of 



three bo appointed on Credentials. Car- 
ried. 

The Chairman appointed T. M. D. Wurd, 
A. L. Jackson, and J. Madden, as said 
Committee, who retired to examine the 
credentials of delegates. During the 
interum the Chairman reqnested Mr. W. 
U. Yates to address the Convention. 

Mr. Yates nrge<l the necessity of union 
among our people, and hoped that there 
Would be no exhibition of jealousy or ill 
feeling among us, but we would all act 
for the gemral good of our entire race. 
He then introduced Kev. 0. M. Briggs, 
.\gent for the Frcedmen's Bureau for the 
Pacific coast. Mr. Briggs stated that we 
must not be discouraged if we did not suc- 
ceed immediately in obtaining our politi- 
cal rights. Wc must expect opposition, 
even from Union men ; the country was 
fast coming up to that point when equal 
political rights would be awarded to color- 
ed men, not only as a reward for their 
valor, patriotism and loyalty, but as just- 
ly due them as men and citizens. He like- 
wise said that prejudice was fast abating 
on this coast. He thanked the Convention 
for the honor of addressing them, but he 
came to listen and learn, not to speak or 
instruct. 

Mr. Peter Andcrssn requested permis- 
sion to offer a few remarks, which he had 
prepared for the consideration of the Con- 
vention. Granted. 

The Committee on Credentials returned 
and reported that nine counties were rep- 
resented by twenty-five delegates. The 
report was accepted, and the Committee 
retained. 

On motion, the Chairman appointed the 



76 



ftjllowing Committee ou permaneut organi- ' tWe franchise. This question is the important 

: ne of the day — not only to those of our raceo 

''•*'"'" • I here and elsewhere— not only to thib Stet6, but 

]{vv. .John J. M"Ore, San Francisco. it concerns, and directly affects tht safety and 

Mr K V (Mark Sacramento | prosperity of the American Governn.ent. lam 

Mr 1? CuiMpl.eli,"Ynlo. I confident that this and other subjects coming 

'., ■ ,,, ,, /,, • ' 1 . v..„-» ; before your consideration, will be treated with 

Mr. W. II. Unstoplier, Napa. ' g^^^^/,^ intelligence, and moderation. I enter 

Mr K. t . Shorter, banta Clara. , „p„„ j^^ discharge of the duties of this iraport- 

The Committee retired, and Rev. Amos ant and elevated office with serious misgivinies, 
, , , „ ^. feeling that it is more to your kind partiality 

Johnson was intro<luced to the Convention, ^^^^^ ^^^y^^^. ^^^^ j ^^ indebted for the dis- 

aud made a very telling and patriotic tinguished honor. I confidently rely upon you 

u to assist me in the proper discharge of my duty, 

■ by the exhibition of that patience, forbearance 

The Committee on Perniancnt Orgniza' andselfrcspect which has ever characterized our 

tion reported the following as the pcrma- ^«- P^ruiit me to assure you that it is my 

•^ . firm resolve to discharge these duties iMipartial- 

nent officers of the Loiiveiition : ly, and with jusuce to all, and that I sincerely 

,, . J , thank you for the distinction with which you 



Fred'k G. Barlnidoes, of San Francisco 
1,-7 Viie Prr>-i(lr)it .• 



Mr. Ward moved that Standing Commit- 
tees be appointed on tlie following eub- 

W. U. Harper, of Sacramento. .. „• "vi •• Tj*t 

' ' jects : liusiiiess, huueation. Industrial 

2d Vice Prpskhnt : Pursuits, I'ul.lic Morals, Statistics, Fi- 

Ba.sil CainplMll of Yolo. n^nce, aud Elective Franchise. The mo- 

Siiritnry : tion was carried, aud the Chairman stated 

I'hilip .\. Hill, of Santa Cruz. that he would announce the Committees 

A^si-^laiil , Simian/ : in the afternoon. K. A. Hall, Wm. II. 

W. II. Christopher, of Napa. Yates and A. L. Jackson were appointed 

Trfasurer • * Committee on Rules. 

Jacob Madden, of Santa Clara. ' -^f'*^^"" l^enediction by the Chaplain, the 

,,. , . CoDventionadiourned until two o'clock P.M. 

Chaplain: ■' 

Rev. F. Kellingwortli, of .Sonoma. | 



I 
Afternoon Bouillon. ! 



Ihe report was received with acclama-i 
tion, and the Chairman apjpoitited Messrs. I At half-past two o'clock the Omvention 
Yates and Riiggles to conduct the Presi- was again called to order by the President, 
dent to the cliair. On taking his seat Mr. | and the exercises were opened with prayer 
l{arbado<s delivered the following address: '. by the Chaplain. 
GtntUm,n of tht Convention.- ^ Roll called. Minutes of last meeting 

For the fourth time the colored citizens of "'"1 '^^'^ ajpproved. 
this State are assembled in Convention for the The Committee on Rules presented thcir 
purpose of obtaining J i^TiCK, and the conside- r, , which was read, 
ration of subjects tLnding to our general eleva- ' 

tion. Ihe principal objict which created the Mr. H. H. Small moved to amend the 
preceding conventions, was the admission of report bv adding the 5th Rule, which was 
our testimony in the courts of justice in this .^ 

State. This has been happily pccomplished by ccepiea. 

our untirin;; efforts, and the generous and noble Mr. PBF.sinEVT : — The Committee sclect- 
co-opiration of the friends of justice in the ^.^ ^q prrpare Rules to govern thin Cod- 
Legislature. After a struggle^ eight years, ^..^jq,, beg leave to submit the follow- 
and in January, in the year 1H6.3, the statutes ■ . 
of California were cleansed from that foul blot " ' 

which had entirely obliterated from their face 1st — The regular Sessions of the COD- 
K(juitv and Justice. The principal objecu of vention shall be held twice each day.— 
this Convention IS to devise way, and means ^,or„ing Session, from 9 to 12 o'clock. 
for the obtaiiung of that nght, which, under the ,, ■ " ^. , n ^ c > i u 

Consutution of the United butes, is guaranteed Evening Session, from 2 to 5 o clock, 
to all her citizens, namely, the right of the-elec- 2d — A hiajority of the Delegates shall 



77 



constitute a quorum for the transaction 
of business. 

3d — The Rules of Order laid down in 
the Convention of 1855, shall be the stand- 
ing rules of this Convention, in all points 
not herein provided for. 

4th — No member shall be allowed to 
speak more than twice upon the same sul>- 
ject, without special leave of the Conven- 
tion, and not longer than ten minutes the 
first time, and five minutes the second. 

5th — A fine of fifty cents will be impos- 
ed upon every member who shall be absent 
at roll call, unless he shall give a reasona- 
ble excuse, to be accepted by the Chair. 
Said fine to be applied to the Contingent 
Fund. 

In accordance with the resolution pre- 
sented this morning by Mr. Ward, the 
President appointed the following Stand- 
ing Committees : 

On Bu!nnfi.<.'< : 
J. J. Moor<-, W. U. Hall, 

E. P. Duplex, E. A. Clark, 

K. II. Small. 

On Edura'.ion : 
W. H. Hall, T. M. D. Ward, 

P. A. Bell. 
On Elective Frorirhise : 
R. A. Hall, W. H. Yates, 

D. W. Kuggles, E. P. Duplex, 

J. R SUrkey. 
Industrial Pursuits : 
T. M. D. Ward, E. W. Parker, 
J. Madden, B. Campbell, 

Wm. H. Harper, E. P. Hilton, 
J. P. Dyer. 

On Stati.'itics : 
J. R. Starkey Dr. Bryant, 

M. L. Rogers. 

On Finance : 
W. H. Harper, W. H. Christopher, 

E. W. Parker, R. F. Shorter, 

R. A. Hall. 
On Public Morals : 
Revs. J. H. Hubbard, J J. Moore, 
P. Kellingworth. 

A preamble and scries of resolutions 
were presented by the Sacramento delega- 
tion, which were read, and on motion, re- 
ferred to the Business Committee. 

Moved, that all resolutions from mem- 
bers or delegations be read and referred 
to appropriate Committees. Carried. 

The Santa Clara delegation presented a 



I preamble and resolutions adopt^'d at a 
j public meeting in San Jose. Read and 
referred to Business Committee. 

Mr. Shorter presented the statistics from 
Santa Clara county. Read and referred 
to appropriate Committee. 

Moved, by Mr. Ward, that the Exe- 
cutive Committee of Sacramento be ad 
mitted to seats iii this Convention. Car- 
ricil. 

Mnved, that we hold an evening session 
at 7 o'clock to-morrow evening, to receive 
stati.stical information from the several 
delegations. Carried. 

Benediction by the Chaplain. 

Adjourned. 



THiRsnAY, OcToeeR 26th. 
Second Day.— Morning Session. 

President in the Chair. Prayer by the 
Chaplain. R'jll called. Minutes of last 
meeting lead and approved. 

Reports of Standing Committees called 
for. Committee on Education reported 
an address, which was accepted. 

Committees on Statistics, Finance, In- 
dustrial Pursuits, and Public Morals, re- 
ported progress. 

Business Committee reported a Pream- 
ble and Resolutions, which were received, 
and while under discussion Mr. Anderson 

rose and said that it is probable the min- 
utes of this Convention will be published 
in pamphlet form, and the cost will pro- 
bably be $100 ; he woujd therefore suggest 
that the Finance Committee mabe ar- 
rangements for that purpose. 

Mr. R. H. Small introduced Messrs. J. 
Johnson and R. McGaines, from El Dorado, 
who were, on motion, elected members of 
the Convention. 

The Committee on Credentials reported 
the roll corrected and complete, as follows: 
San Francisco : 

Rev. J. J. Moore, J. R. Starkey, 

Rev. T. M. D. Ward, P. Anderson, 

D. W. Rugglcs, 



E. W. Parker, 
E. P. Hilton, 
Wm. H. Hall, 
J. Smallwood, 
J. J. Moore, proxy, 
H. M. Collins, F. G. Barbadoes, proxy. 



R. A. Hall, 

J. Madison Bell, 

W. H. Yates, 



7S 



Sacramento : 
Wm. H. Harper, Edward A. Clark, 
A. L. JacksoD, P. L. Hickman, 

A. I>. Berghardt. 

Santa Clara : 
Jacob Madden; Richard F. Shorter. 

I\apa : 
Wm. U. Christopher. 

Yolo : 
Basil Campbell. 

Sdiinma : 
Peter Kiliingworth. 

3Tnri]X)i'a: 
Moses L. Rogers. 

Yuba : 
Ed. P. Duplex, Dr. W. J. 0. Bryant. 

El Doratio : 

James M. Oliver, Robert U. Small, 

Jamed Ccfous. 

Contra Costa : 
John Peterson. 

Solano : 
N. E. Speights, by F. G. Barbadoes, proxy. 

Sierra : 
I. P. Gibbs, by J. P. Dyer, proxy. 

Santa Cruz : 
Geo. W. Smith, by P. A. Bell, proxy. 



Afternoon Seaaion. 

Tlie President in the Chair, and a quo- 
rum of members present. Prayej' by the 
Chaplain. Roll called. Minutes' of last 
meeting read, corrected and approved. 

Mr. R. n. Small introduced Mr. F. W. 
B. Grinnage, of NcTada.aiid moved that he 
be elected an honorary member of the 
Convention. Carried. 

The unfinished business was thca taken 
up. Mr. Moore continued the report of 
the Business Committee. 

By privilege, Mr. Anderson introduced 
Rev. M. C. Briggs, and moved that he be 
invited to take a seat in thu Convention. 
Carried, by aclamation. 

Mr. Briggs thanked th<' Convention for 
the honor conferred on liim, for such he 
considered it, to be associated wifL men 
who were striving fur the attainment of 
such a noble object as the .enfranchise- 
mcnt of their race. 



Mr. James B. Jenkins, of Placerville, 
was introduced, and elected an honorary 
member. Mr. Jenkins stated that he was 
on his return to Baltimore, his former 
home, and was glad that he would be able 
to make a good report of the progress we 
are making in this State. 

The Secretary announced that Mr. E. 
E. Duplex had kindly consented to assist 
him, and wuuld make a summary report 
(^f the remarks and speeches. 

The report of the Business Committee 
was continued, and the resolutions were 
amended and referred to appropriate Com- 
mittees. 

The Chairman of the Committee on Edu- 
cation made his report, which was read. 

A motion by R; A. Hall that the report 
be adopted by sections was agreed to. 

The Chairman of the Committee, in pre- 
senting the tirst resoiutiun, sustained it in 
some very well-timed and appropriate re- 
marks, urging the adoption of tlie resolu- 
tion. It was obvious, he said, to every in- 
telligent mind that we required greater edu- 
cational advantages, the law at present 
only allowing schools where there are ten 
children, with discretionary power on the 
part of the Commissioners to establish 
schools for a les-ser number. The law 
should be amended so as to give to every 
child the privileges of education. If they 
were not to have a separate school, let them 
be admitted to those already established. 
As a law-abiding and tax-paying class we 
are entitled to greater advantages in this 
respect than we now enjoy, and which it is 
unfair to deprive us of. 

The first resolution was adopted. 

The Chairman of the Committee, after 
reading the second resolution, stated that 
the Institute at San Jose, under the super- 
intendence of Mr. P. .W. Cassey, was in suc- 
cessful operation. The site, with the im- 
provements thereon, could have been 
purchased two years ago for twenty-five 
hundred dollars, but that it was now worth 
four thousand. With the increased ad- 
vantages possessed by San Jose the prop- 
erty will certainly still further advance in 



79 



value in the course of a couple of years 
more. At present the Institute vas but 
poorly sustained. The Principal was a 
gentleman of distinguished ability. Ac- 
cording to the most reliable information, 
the entire cukired population of California 
is 4,086. A tax of one dollar levied upon 



>^hen obtained, would enable them to stand 
erect as men, compete with, contend for, 
and demand their rights as men, irrespec- 
tive of race or complexion. 

Mr. RuggU's next addressed the Con- 
vention, lie endorsed the resolution for 
many reasons. When a slave in Louisi- 



each pew.n would purchase the Institute, i ._^^^^ ^f^^.^. )^^ying been sold five times, he 
and leave a surplus of eighty-six dollars ^.^^ presented to a slaveholder. Upon 
in the treasury; and with the probable l„^ „pj.j^sio„,,,,^.„ an English gentleman, 
success of an application ^for endowment | ^ f^i^uj ^f i,;^ njagter, was learning him 

the A, B, C, was strongly reproved, and 
informed that by so doing he laid himself 
liable to be imprisoned iu the State prison. 
The gentleman was astonished. H«' learn- 
ed to read and write by the light of the fire. 



by ''le Legislature of $5,000, would place 
the Institute on a firm basis, and establish 
a school of a high oi Jer. 

Mr K P. Shorter said he was one 
of the founders of the Ii.stitute. The 
land on which it is situated, embracing 
some fciur or five acres, could have been 
obtained at one tin>o for fifteen hundred 



Mr. Kuggles, in eloipieut terms, urged 
mothers to commence the education of 
their children at liunie. Was angered 



dullars. He als.. stated that he was ^ ^,,,.y ^^^j^p ^,,„ slandered his race, and 
well ac(iuaii.t(Ml with the ..wucrof the site, if^.,, grieved to think that some of the able 



who resided in ^an Francisco. The loca- 
tion wa.s well adapted for a high school. 
Th< Institute was first established by sub- 
scription, tht; teacher receiving fifty dol- 
lars per month for his services. After em- 
ploying two teachers, the Institute had se- 
cured the eminent services of the present 
able and experienccnl inctnnb<'nt, P. W. 
Cassey. W. A. Smith petitioned the Pub 
lie School Commissioners for State assist- 
ance towards sustaining the Institute, and 
they roppoiided by granting a subsidy of 
fifty dolrars per month in furtherance of 
that laudable object, the resident children 
to d<rive the benefit thereof gratuitously. 
Mr. K. A Hall, who attended the Conven- 
tion for specific pur|)oses, thought that the 
present was the culminating time. Edu- 
cation was the theme that demanded our 
chiefest att<ntit>n and labors. Now was 
the time when it became a paramount duty 
with us to carry out our resolvi-s ; to long 
for knowledge and learning, without put- 
ting our shoulders to the wheel in earnest, 
would never help to raise us out of the 
slough of ignorance. It was with pride 
that hp saw the master spirit* of the na- 
tion devotingtheir attention and assistance 
to the education of the Frecdmen, which, 



colored men did not refute the charges. — 
Wiiat was one dollar to give ? He was 
willing to give five dollars per month, and 
if any number of gentlemen would .give 
twenty dollars towards the purchase, he 
Would give fifty dollars. lie wished it to 
revert, in all ages to come, that the Paci- 
fic coast could boast such splendid school 
advantages. 

Motion by A. L. Jackson, to postpone 
further debate until 12 o'clock to-morrow, 
stating he thought they would be a^le to 
secure the Methodist Church, on Sixth st. 

Mr. M. C. Briggs kindly informed them 
that they could have it as early on the 
morrow and as long as they wished — 
which was received with loud applause. 

The motion of Mr. Jackson was then 
put and carried. 

Upon motion of Mr. Starkey, a vote of 
thanks was tendered Mr. Briggs for the 
use of his church. 

Report of the Committee on Bdncatlon. 

Yoor Coininitt«e appointed to eoniider upon 
the subject of Education, present the following 
aa their Report : 

The greatest distinction between the human 
and the animal branches of creation, is the fa- 
cility to acquire education of the higher grades. 
Some specimens of the aoitnal creation may ac- 



80 



quire education to a certain degree, but there it 
•tops — it can go no further ; their instincts, by 
which alone tLey are governed, cannot carry 
them beyond that point. W hen the reasoning 
faculties come into requisition, the progression 
of the animal «topi, and we see the power of 
the human mind. 

AnayUation, comparison, analogy, descrip- 
tion, and their kindred attributes, are all the re- 
sults of reflection ; and the reasoning faculties, 
which ore d:8tinct from the instinctive qualities 
of the brute, and are empnations of the God-like 
power from which source man has his being, and" 
to develop which is his chief end and aim. 

That can only be accomplished by his having 
all possible facilities of education, and every 
means open to him for improving his mind and 
enlarging his understanding ; and to none are 
these facilities more requisite than to a race 
whose ancestors haVe for generations been de- 
prived of all opportunities foe mental improve- 
ment — against whom the portals of the Temple 
of Knowledge have been closed, and who are, 
even now, but emerging from the barbarism of 
slavery, and from jkhoseminds^e clouds of ig- 
norance and superstition arc just breaking aw<iy. 
Therefore, be it 

Rtsolrtd, That we present a petition to the 
Legislature to so amend the School Law that 
colored children, by its provisions, shall receive 
the beneflt of its advantages in common with 
others ; and, 

WiiEREAS, The School at >an Jose, being al- 
readv established, and in successful operation, 
requires the prompt and earnest aid of our peo- 
ple, as well as their whole influence j therefore, 
be it 

Resolvtd, That a contribution of one dollar 
be solicited from ever)- colored person through- 
out the State of California to purcha.-e the prop- 
erty of the San Jose School ; and also, that the 
Legislature be petitioned for an endowment for 
the establishment of a High .School. Be it fnr- 
thermore 

Raolvtd, That this Convention most earnest- 
ly solicit the shareholders composing the Liv- 
ingstone Institute to contribute whatever funds 
they may have accumulated towards the objects 
above contemplated. Be it further ' 

Rtiolttdl, That this Convention heartily ap- 
proves of fhe objects of the Lincoln Monument 
Associatiqn, and that it will do all in<it« power 
to p«rpetuate the memory of the man who wrote 
the Proclamation that rent asunder the chains 
of four millions of bondmen ! 

W. H. Hall, ^ 

P. A. Bell, > Committee. 

T. M. D. Wakd, > 

A cornmuuication was prestntcd from a 
Conimitlee of Ladies of the Siloam Bap- 
ti.st Church, informing the members that 
a Fruit Festival would be given on Friday 
evening, in aid of the building fund of the 
church. Read and laid on the table. 

The Chairman of the Business Commit- 



tee presented the continuation of their re- 
port, when the several resolutions and 
recommendations were ably discussed. 

Moved, that the report be adopted by 
sections. Carried. 

The following is the 

Report and Resolutions. 

The Business Committee having duly consid- 
ered the importance of the duty assigned them, 
respectfully present the following preamble, 
resolutions, and recommendations, as their re- 
|port: 

I Whereas, This (jovemment has just reco- 
I vered from the terrible -stroke of a just retribu- 
tion of Almighty God, for the fearful crime of 
I slavery, wh'ch brought the nation reeling and 
I tottering upon the brink of ruin, with her high- 
' est hopes trembling in the great balance of im- 
'. mutable events; ana,'whcreas,in the fearful reck- 
oning of Divine Justice our nation was not en- 
tirely found wanting, and God's gracious hand 
has stayed the destroj-ing angel of devastating 
war, upon his crimson wings, and the voice of 
the turtle of peace is heard in our land, there- 
1 fore, 

1 iJew/rerf— That we rejoice in the suppression 
! of the war and the overthrow of the rebellion 
in our land — the most formidable ever waged 
: against justice and humanity. 

I Resolved — That we rejoice that this war has 
resulted in the overthrow of slavery, and its to- 
I tal extinction by Federal legislation,'' in an 
j amendment to the Constitution. 
I Resolved— That we have a new love for the 
' American Union, and shall ever w-illingly lay 
! down our lives in defence of the great prinei- 
j pies of our Republic, — for the glory of our 
, country-, the freedom of our race, the rights of 
our citizenship, and the preserv-^ion of the 
Union — mt&itained upon RepublicAp principles. 
Resolved — That if the American Government 
will become suflRciently just to accord to us the 
[ full rights of citizenship, we will flock to the 
[ American standard by hundreds of thousands 
I at the call of the nation, to support thiise prin- 
ciples against enemies of the country — domestic 
or foreign. 

I Resolved — That as five millions of our race are 
equally Interested with the rest of the American 
people, in those great principles that are now 
involved in the issues of the nation, therefore it 
is our highest and most 'sacred duty to bring 
Into requisition every available means to assist 
us in the great contest for our claims to man- 
hood and " Equality before the Law." 

Resolved- That we believe the most potent 
element* any class of men can wield In tiie de- 
fence of their natural and political rights, are 
virtue, wealth, political franchise, and social 
unity. 

Resolved — That we recommend our brethren 
In this State, and throughout 'the country, to 
aim to develope the highest state of Chnttian 



81 



morali, by maintaioing true Chmtian and moni 
institutions, under the direction of faithful and 
pious leaders. 

8. — That we especially recommend our 
brethren to maintain temperance among them. 

9. — That we recommend our brethren to 
aim at the same high order of education de- 
yeloped among the white r&ce, and to make 
suciv persistent claims on the public educational 
proyisions, and to establish such institutions, 
where necessary and practicable, as will insure 
to us and our children that desirable condition. 

10. — Tliat wealth is an element of social 
power necessary to raise any people to an inde- 
pendent and influential position, and that we, 
as a people, should particularly direct our aims, 
our efforts, and pursuits, to its honorable acqui- 
■ition. 

11. — That no people can acquire wealth 
except they engage in those business pursuits 
by which it is originally produced. 

12'— That the real source of the produc- 
tion of wealth, ia agriculture, manufacturing, 
mechanism, commerce, and scientific profes- 
sions. 

13. — That we recommend our people to 
engage more generally in these independent 
pursuits of industry. 

14. — That no people can secure the high 
respect of others while they put them- 
selves at their feet to be their menials. 

15. — That a State Kxecutive ''ommittee of 
one member from each Judicial District be ap- 
pointed by this Convention, to whom shall be 
referred the unfinished business and the duty 
of carrying out the work organised and con- 
templated by this Convention. 

16. — That while we acknowledge our un- 
■wer\-ing fealty t.> the Government. We are 
greatly dissatisfied with the policy pursued by 
the Oovenunent, ( since our immortal and glo- 
rious Lincoln fell) ; respecting those issues of 
the country that most immediately effects the 
colored Americans. 

17. — That no Christian nation with any real 
sense of justice or humanity, could ask a class 
of people to assist in saving the Government 
from aestruction, and nfter tney had sacrificed 
hundreds and thousands of their lives to that 
effect, to then deny them of the common rights 
that nature has endowed them with ; rights in- 
volving principles upon which the Oovemment 
founded its political institutions, pronounced by 
them to be the natural rights of all men. 

18. — That it is the imperative duty of parents, 
or guardians of children, to have them a* far as 
possible, educated in some branch of business 
pursuits, by which they may be producer*. 

' 19. — That as memoaalixation is ^e common 
medium of appeal, by the American citizen, to 
the law making power, against all political 
grievances, therefore it is our right, and duty, 
to petition the Legislature of this State to have 
the State Constitution so amended as to secure 
its colored citisen the right of suffrage. 



20. — That we appeal to them for our rijht 
of suffrage iipon the principle of human Justice, 
taught in the great Divine Rule, -do unto 
others, a« you would they should do unto 
you j"--upon the principles of man's natural 
equal rights ; on the principle of maintaining 
the pr(nciples of the Republic, as a claim upon 
every true American, true Union loving man, 
Patriot and Christian in the country, for their 
signatures to our petition. 

21.— That an ably and faithAilly conducted 
press is indispeasaole for the publie yindic*- 
tion of our equal rirhta before tne law, and to 
fully and impartiuly advocate our general 
interests. 

22. — That there be a committee appointed by 
this Convention to prepare an address to the 
people of this State, on the subjects of general 
education, industrial pursuits and mors! insti- 
tutions, the said address to be published with 
our minutes, in pamphlet form, by a publishing 
committee. (Referred to publishing committee). 
23. — That this Convention recommend our 
people in this State and throughout the country, 
to set apart throueh their religious leaders, a 
day ot fa6ting ana prayer, that Almighty God 
may control the nation's council at its next 
meeting, to ensure its legislation in favor o/ 
justice, humanity and equal rights to all men. 

24.— That members of the State Executive 
Comraittee be instructed, and the members of 
this Convention, be requested to form County 
Executive Committees throughout the State, 
auxiliary to the State Committee, to further 
the purposes and effecting the objects of thia 
Convention. 

J. J. MooBF, 1 

E. P. Duplex, I 

W. H. Hall, } Committee. 

E. A. Claek, [ 

R. H. Shall, ) 

Adjourned until the extra session, at 7 
o'clock p. M. 



quo- 



Second Day.— XiTanlag Seaaion. 

The President in the chair, and » 
rum of members present. 

Prayer by the Chaplain. 

So much of the minutes as related to 
the special object of the meeting, vix : to 
receive statistical reports from the differ- 
ent delegations, was read and adopted. 

Mr. R. H. Small rose to ask pririlege 
to make a motion ; it was pertinent to the 
subject matter before the house. Leave 
granted. He moved that Mr. P. Ander- 
son be added to the Committee on Stati»- 
tics. Seconded by Mr. Ward. 



82 



Mr. R. A. Hall opposed theinotion. Mr. 
Andereon had sbown his insioceritj and 
his unwillingness to act in anison with 
other members. He delivered a speech 
here yesterday morning, by permission, 
and instead of leaving it with the Secre- 
tary, it was published in full. He would 
like to know whether it bad been publish- 
ed by the Secretary, or whether some un- 
derhanded means had been used to ac- 
complish it. He hoped Mr. Small would 
withdraw his motion. 

Mr. Small said he had expected opposi- 
tion ; was satisfied the San Francisco del- 
egation would. oppose anything in which 
Mr. Anderson's name was mentioned ; that 
gentleman, from his experience, was well 
quaTified for the position, and he hoped he 
would be appointed. He did not wish to 
accuse the President of partiality in ap- 
pointing Committees, but he thought a 
spirit of partisanship had been shown. He 
would not withdraw his motion. 

Mr. Rupglcs opposed the motion. The 
mover was not probably aware of many 
facts, but he would not relate them here. 
The Committee on Statistics he consider- 
ed capable of performing their duty, and 
he did not believe they required any addi- 
tion to their number. 

The President, Mr. Barbadoes, left the 
chair, and Mr. Harper, Ist Vice President, 
acted in his stead. 

Mr. Barbadoes wished to defend himself 
from the implied charge of partiality. He 
had no personal feeling against Mr. An- 
derson, but he doubted his sincerity. He 
(Mr. A.) opposed this Convention with 
all his force, accusing all who favored it of 
sinister motives and dishonesty. At last, 
finding it was a popular movement, he 
had, by unfair means, got himself elected 
a member of this Convention ; and had not 
yet even expressed any change of opinion, 
hence he considered that gentleman unfit 
to hold any position in this body. Inde- 
pendent of that consideration, he had been 
governed in his selections for making 
Committees, by the ability possessed 



rather than assumed ; and he believed 
the House would sustain him in both 
points, and in excluding Mr. Anderson 
from the Committees. 

Mr. Anderson threw back the charge of 
forcing himself upon the Convention. He 
was elected by a larger majority than any 
other delegate from San Francisco ; be 
bad not asked the gentlemen to bring the 
subject before this body ; he would appeal 
to his constituents ; he had been solicited 
by the Chairman of the Committee on Sta- 
tistics for Information, which he refused to 
give ; he expected to be made the butt 
and victim of bis foes, but his constituents 
would dohim justice. 

Several other gentlemen participated in 
the debate, when the question was called 
and lost. 

The Convention then proceeded to the 
special order of business. The different 
delegations through their Chairman, pre- 
sented statistical reports. 

The reports were very interesting, and 
furnished a great deal of ;raluable infor- 
mation. They were referred to the Com- 
mittee on Statistics. 

Basil Campbell, delegate from Yolo, 
presented statistics from the adjoining 
counties of Colusa and Tehama, which 
were not represented. The delegation 
from Yuba county presented an able re- 
port. 

Mr. Hubbard stated that since the color- 
ed citizens of California last assembled in 
Convention several of our friends and rep- 
reseatative men who formerly joined with 
us in our delibecations, had been removed 
by death ; and by permission of this Con- 
vention he would, on Friday evening, de- 
liver an eulogy on the lives, characters and 
services of the late Wm. H. Newb}*, John 
Freeman, Jr., John Q. Wilson and Wm. 
N. Bedford. He then moved that a Com- 
mittee on Condolenc^be appointed. Car- 
ried. 

The Chair appointed Messrs. J. H. Hub- 
bard, P. Kellingworth. and R. H. Small. 

^ovcd that we adjourn, to meet to-mor- 



83 



row morning in Mr. Brigg^s church, on 
Sixth street. Cftrried. 

Prayer by the Chaplain. 

Adjourned. 



Friday, October SIth. 
Third Day.— Momioc nwlou 

Convention met this day in M. E. 
Church, Sixth street, at 9 o'clock. The 
President called the House to order. 

Prayer by the Chaplain. 

Roll called. Minutes of last meeting 
read. 

While the Secretary was reading the 
minutei, Mr. Yates moved that only so 
much of the minutes as related to the busi- 
ness of the present meeting be read. Car- 
ried. 

Mr. Yates moved that the 16th resolu- 
tion be re-committed to the Committee, 
'vith instructions to amend. He said we 
were not in a position to dictate to Qov- 
ernment ; we were not able to judge what 
was to come. President Johnson has the 
ghost of John Tyler to warn him against 
treachery ; the living shade of Millard 
Fillmore to bind him to the principles he 
professed, and the Constitution to define 
his every act, it is impossiule for us to 
throw cold water on what has been ac- 
complished. The time was not very distant 
when the black man was looked upon as a 
political leper, and for our friends to ()e- 
fend us was political death. More has 
been accomplished within the last four 
years than I ever expected to see in my 
day and time. We are willing to pay the 
price of liberty, as has been fully demon- 
strated. 

Mr. Moore urged that the time had ar- 
rived for men to speak out boldly, and let 
the world know what we think as men. 
He is opposed to anything like cringing. 
We have a perfect right to read and criti- 
cise the acta of our Government. Presi- 
dent Johnson will hear the appeal of the 
most hjimble black man, when properly 
presented. 



Messrs. Small and ClaBk advocated the 
passage of the resolution, in some well 
timed remarks. 

R A. Hall hoped that all sensitiveuesa 
would be laid aside, and that all business, 
before the House would be deliberated 
upon and be despatched as speedily as 
possible. 

Mr. Yates withdrew his motion to r^ 
commit. 

Reading of the feport continued. 

Mr. Ward moved that so much as re- 
fers to industrial pursuits, viz : resolu- 
tions 12, 13 and 14, be referred to the 
Committee on that subject. Carried. 

The balance of the report was there- 
upon received and adopted. ' 

Mr Yates offered the following resolu- 
tion : 

Retolved—TiMt we tympathiie with the Fe- 
niim movement to liberate Ireland from the 
yoke of British bondage, and when we have, 
obtained our full citizenship in this country, we 
should be willing to assist our Irish brethren in 
their struggle for National Independence ; and 
40,000 colored troops could be raised to butt 
the horns off the hypocritical English bulL 

Mr. Yates was opposed to English Au- 
tocrats, for as soou as the war broke out 
that " cotton superceded wool ^" favored 
Fenianism, believed in universal liberty, 
that the Irish position was one of oppres- 
sion, alike with the slave. The assertion 
was made ihat the slave would figb^, but 
ihe freemen would not. We nobly refuted 
that in the glorious 54th Massachusetts, 
which was composed of different material 
from any regiment that preceded it ; many 
of them were formerly slaves, and, to be 
taken a prisoner, Andersonville would be 
excelled. Their record we all know. — 
Would like to see forty regiments of Irish- 
men defended by forty regiments of blacks, 
go across the Atlantic to help give liberty 
to the oppressed of Ireland. I would glad- 
ly number one of them. He hoped it 
would be referred to the Business Commit- 
tee. 

Wm. H. Hall hoped the Committee 
wot^ld endorse something of the kind. The 
resolution was not introduced for any bun- 



84 



combe ; he was serious in adTOcating tlic 
matter. Politicians had prejudiced the 
Irishman against tho black man ; he be- 
lieved in universal liberty, irrespective of 
color. 

Mr. Hubbard opposed the resolution. 
He considered the Irishman the most de- 
ceitful of all nations ; were controlled 
largely by the Roman Church. We will 
forget self to extend a helping hand 
across the ocean to the Irishman. 

Mr. Small favored the resolutiou, and 
thought one of the proudest things a black 
man could do would he to assist with forty 
thousand men, or more, in writing £m- 
mctt'a epitaph. 

Mr. Hojt said it was better in passing 
resolutions to word them as we mean. Fa- 
vored broad, universal freedom ; God will 
break down the barriers over right ; the 
Chinese and Indians in our very midft 
stand in need of our sympathy and encou- 
ragement. 

R. A. Hall (by permission ), thought 
both sides should be heard ; did not be- 
lieve the Pope ever instructed Irishmen to 
hate and abuse the black man ; such senti- 
ments as those of Daniel O'Connell he lov- 
ed, who would willingly sacrifice life for 
the freedom of his people. 

Mr. Hubbard alluded to the published 
statement of Bishop Hughes, who went to 
Rome a Union man, and ^eiurned a Cop- 
perhead at heart. 

By Mr Bell. — Mr. Hughes never was 
considered a sound Union man. 

The motion was l&id on the table. 

Report of the Committee on Industrial 
PnrsuitM read and received. 

It being 12 o'clock, the special order, 
the report of the Committee on Edncation, 
was called up. 

The Address and Resolutions were ably 
advocated, and the report adopted. 

The Finance Committee reported pro- 
gress. They recommended that each 
member be taxed $3, to pay the expenses 
of the CooTention. 



Mr. Anderson moved, as an amendment 
to the report, that the tax be $2. 

Amendment lost, and the report and re- 
comincndations adopted. 

The roll was called, and the members 
paid $3 each. 

Mr. Anderson paid under protest. He 
said he should appeal to bis constituents. 

Moved that the honorary members be 
exempt from taxation. Carried. 

Benediction by the Chaplain. 

Adjourned. 



Third Day.— Afternoon Session. 

The President, F. G, Barbadocs, in the 
Chair. 

Prayer by Rev. J. H. Hubbard. 

Roll called. Minutes of last meeting 
read and approved. 

J. R. Starkey, Chairman of Committee 
on Statiiitics, presented the following re- 
port, which was adopted : 

STATISTICAL RKPORTR. 

The Coniinitt<»e on Statistical lofomatioo. in 
preientinff their report, beg li-ave to «ay that they 
ri'gtet the limited meaos which have bt-en afforded 
them on which to base a report ^uch afe they 
would \\M to prenent to the Convention, as eri- 
deoce of the prngresa in wealth, morals, educa- 
tion and industrial putjult* of the colored people 
of California. That we bare made and w mak- 
ing continual progress in all the above, is undenia- 
ble, and weofft-r our brief and imperfect report of 

ich progieM to establish our claim to the righu 
and privileges of citizenship : 

Sbb FrsBcUc* Coaat^. 

Population. 

Adults 1,600 

Childre? 2«0 

Total i,MO 

Rdigiou* and Moral InttUutiont. 

Churches 1 

Value $30,000 

Members 250 

AttendanU 800 

Beneficial Societies 4 

Fundi $4,000 

Members 140 

Muonic Lodges 4 

Members 

Sabbath Schools S 

Pupils 120 



85 



Common Instituliont. 
Public Day Sohooli 2 

Pupils 120 

Public Night Schools 2 

Pupils 60 Adults. 

Colored Childrca in Catholic Schocla..lO 

Livingstone Insiiiutt. 
Funds $3,000 

Onulkers' Association. 
Members 9 

BUSINESS PURSUITS. 

ifechania, Manufacturers, tie. 

Painters 4 

House Carpenters 3 

Ship Carpenters 2 

Caulkers 9 

Boot Makers 4 

Tailors ^ 3 

Brick Layers 2 

l'last«;rers 2 

Blacksmiths 4 

Hose Makers I 

Segar M akers 2 

Tinners 1 

Uphobterers 2 

iJress Makers 10 

Seamstresses 5 

Milliners 3 

Ladies Hair Dressers 9 

Tobacco Manufacturers 4 

Soap and Tallow M anufactory 1 

Fancy Soap M anu&ctory 1 

Hair Restorative 1 

Fancy Hair-workers 2 

Laundries 10 

Junk Stores 2 

Teamsters 20 

Real EsUte ^ gents .2 

Barbers 

Liberal Profettiont. 

Clergymen 10 

l->lilors : 2 

Total Wealth of City and County. 1750,000 

Number of Adults in City and County. 470 

Number that can read and write 375 

Number that cannot read or write .... 95 
Number Children in City and County . . 150 

Number attending school 49 

Number not receiving instruction 101 

Sabbath Schools 2, membership of . . . . 44 
Eight Teachers, .two Superintendents. 10 
A library belonging to each school, con- 
sisting of 350 volumes. 

Number of Churches 2 

A. M. E. Church, Rev. J. H. Hubbard, 
Pa^r in charge, 82 members. 

Baptist connection. Rev. Ainoi John- 
son, 22 members. 

Number of Mechanics 18 

Farmers 10 

Doctor 1 



No person in the connty sopported by 
by the pubUc^or benevolent sooietiesL 

Amount of Church and pubtie property 
belonging to colored rasidents. . .$4,604 
^Bnt one colored person in the Ccnatf 
HospitaL 

Amount of real estate and other 
property $137,245 

Total amount of proper^ repre- 
sented by the people of color of 
this city and county, as far as 
can be ascertained $141,MA 

Yalo, ColsMk mn* TofcaMa C^matlaa. 

HADR BT BASIL CAMPBELL. 

AdulU 16 Childrea 5 

Total population 21 

Miimb«>r who can read and write 15 

Property owned in the county. . . .$17,900 

Farmers and Stock-raisers 6 

Stock-raisers without farms 4 

No school in the county. 
As there are no delegates from the ad- 

i'oining counties of Colusa and Tehama, 
beg leave to. report the condition of 
those counties, as far as I am acquaint- 
ed. In the county of Colusa there ar«, 

AdulU 8 Children 13 

Total population 21 

Number who can read and write 6 

Property owned in the county .... 822,300 

Farmers and Stock-raisers 6 

Stock-raisers without farms 2 

No school in the county. 

In the county of Tehama there are. 

Adults 14 Children 17 

Total population 31 

Number who can read and write 15 

Property owned in the coxinty .... f ^,300 

Farmers and Stock-raisers 7 

Stock-raisers without farms 2 

,.No school in the connty. 

Recapitulation of the three counties : 

Adults ...38 Children.. ..35 

Total population ,....73 

Number that can read and write 35 

Property owned $69,500 

Farmers and Stock-raisers 17 

Stock-raisers without farms 8 

EI I>or«da Covntjr. 

Male Adults 190 

Female Adults 75 

Children 4^ 

Total 306 « 

Number that can read and write 223 

Occupations. 

Mechanics 4 

Miners » 50 

Farmers 14 

Hair Dressers 25 

Laborers « 40 

Aggr^te am'nt taxable property. $75,000 
One 'Church, owning two lota. 
No school in the county. 



86 



S«Bt« ClArs C*amty. 

ToUl population *. 175 

Real estate and personal property (76,000 
One Church, of the Methodist persuaaion. 
One colored school, sustained by the Com- 
mon -chool Fund, P. W. Cassey, teach- 
er. He receives for his serrices $50 per 
month. In addition to this, P. W. Cas- 
sey keeps a boarding-school, which, at 
the present time, is well patronized. — 
There is an educational institution in this 
county, called the " Phoeniionian Insti- 
tute," which was organized in the year 
1862, and is now in a prosperous condi- 
tion. 
Most of the colored people are engaged in 
agriculture— ^very few are employed as 
menials. They are a sober, industrious, 
religious, and plain-dealing people. 

SonomK CouBtjr. 

AdulU .55 Children 20 

Ocrufxilions. 

Farmers 10 

Carpenters 2 

Blacksmiths 2 

Barbers 7 

General laborers 12 

One church, and one school-bouse. 
Estimated valuation of property . . $25,000 
Rev. p. Kellingworth, 
Delegate from Sonoma. 

IVapa County. 

Amt of property, real and personal. $5 1,000 
One ' school, esublished by the Board of 
Kducation. Owing to the limited amount 
of money in the .School Fund the parents 
are assessed $1 50 per month for each 
scholar. In several oistricts where there 
are not ten colored children, those that 
are living in such districts are growing 
up in ignorance. 
There are no colored churches. 

Wji. H. Christopdeb, 
Delegate from Napa. 

HarlpoMi Coant^. 

Number of Families 10 

Children t 20 

Quartz Miners 10 

Placer Miners 20 

Ranchers 5 

Blacksmiths 2 

Barbers 2 

Painter 1 

B oot-maker 1 

Tailor 1 

Estimated value of property $20,000 

M. KROGEES, 

Delegate from Mariposa. 
Sfcrml Commty. 

There being no delegate from this, the 
adjoining county, Mr. Rogers made 
the following report : 



Male Adults 11 

Female Adults 8 

Children 8 

City or MarjrsrIUc mud TUiBltjr. 

[Comprising part of Yuba county.J 

Number of Adults 156 

Children under five years of age 24 

Children over five years of 4ge 26 



Total. 



.206 



Estimated wealth 8163,690 

Occupaiicma. 

Barbers 18 

Vegetable, fruit and poultry dealers 6 

Pork-raisers 7 

Soap manufactory 1 

Fancy hair-workers 2 

Druggist 1 

Junk dealer • 1 

Bath-housekeepers .3 

Carpenters 2 

Engaged in Laundry business 10 

Cooks 5 

Farmers 25 

General jobbers 12 

Hostlers 3 

Seamstresses 4 

Dress-makers 4 

Public Porters 11 

Miners 12 

White-washers .4 

Number of Churches, 2 — both unfinished, 
though occupied. The Baptist Church is 
entirely out of debt ; the Methodist 
owes about 8400. One Public School ; 
average attendance about 20 Two Sab- 
bath .-chools, fair attendance. Mining 
Companies, 3 ; in two of which well de- 
fined ledges have been struck. The 
Rare Ripe Company has been incorpo- 
rated, and about $2,0ti0 has been ex- 
pended upon it. The highest yield per 
ton, $25. No work has been done for 
several months, owing to some of the 
stock having to pass through adminis- 
tration. Will resume work again in a 
few days. The morals of the people are 
good. No drinking saloon, billiard sa- 
loon, nor gambling dens, in the county. 
No professional gamblers. 



In conclusion, your Committee regret that 
they have not been able to present a more gene- 
ral report, in consequence of the small number 
of coimties represented in the Convention, and 
the very short time they have had to prepare 
the report, and the impossibility of procuring, 
at the present time, sufiScient information to 
enable your Committee to prepare a report 
based upon the entire colored population of the 
State. All of which is respectfully submitted. 
J. R. Starket, ^ 
Dr. Bryant, > Committee. 
M. L. Rogers, ) 



87 



The Secretary said that be wished to 
give a nomographic Chart of this Con- 
vention, and he therefore moved that each 
delegate be requested to famish the fol- 
lowing information : Time and place of 
birth, when arrived in this country, pres- 
ent place of residence, and occupation, 
and social or family condition. Carried. 

Mr. R. A. Hall, Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Flective Franchise, presented 
the following 

Report of Commlttae on Elective Franchise. 

To THE HONORABLB THE LeOISLATVBK Or TBE STATE 

or California — 

GenUemen : — The undersigned, citizens of the 
United States and of the Ktate of California, 
respectfully present to your honorable bodies, 
the Senate and Uouse of Assembly, this, their 
petition, and showing for your honorable notice 
that we are an industrious, moral and law abid- 
ing class of citizens, professing an average of 
education and general intelligence ; bom upon 
American soil, knd paving taxes yearly upon 
several million of dollars, and upholding all 
the institutions of our common country, as re- 
cently demonstrated by the employment of two 
hundred thousand of the negro population in 
the late great rebellion, — whose courage and 
loyalty have been testified to by manv distin- 
guished commabders, and whose whole record 
has never been disgraced by a single black 
traitor. \^e would most respectfuUv ask of 
your honorable bodies, in view of the above 
multiplied merits, an amendment to the Consti- 
tution of the State of California, in Section lit. 
Article II, of said Constitution, so that the same 
m^ read as hereinafter set forth, to the end 
that American citizens of ^/riean dtscent, and 
iuch other persons of African descent as may 
have provided to become citizens, mav be ad- 
mittea to the rights of Suffrage and Citizenship 
of the State of California. 
Respectfully submitted, 

R. A. Hall, 
W. H. Yates, 
E. P. Dcpijtx, 
J. R. Starket, 
D^ W. RroGLES, 

CONSTITUTION OF CALIFORNIA, 
JttieUU. 

RiOBT OF SCITKAGE. 

Sedion 1 — Every male citizen of the United 
States, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall 
have heen a resident of the State six months 
iiext preceding the "election, and the county or 
district in wbch he claims his vote, thirty davs, 
ihall be entitled to vote at all elections which 
are pow, or hereafter may be authorized by 
law : provided, that nothing herein contained 
•hall be tonstrued to prevent the Legislature, 
by a two-thirds concurrent vote, from admitting 



to the right of suffrage Indians, or the daaeen- 
dants of Indians, in such special cases as such • 
proportion of the Legislative body may deem 
just and proper. 

The report was read, and on motion 
to adopt, Mr. Wm. H. Hall delivered the 
following impressive and eloquent speech : 

Mr. Prbsident :— I have refrained from in- 
truding upon the time of the Convention until 
now, but th« importance of the question' pre- 
sented here for consideration, brings us before 
the American people of California, to-day, to 
ask their decision upon the great subject of 
negro su&age. It is the most momentous issue 
ever addressed to public opinion, and embraces 
the political prospects of all parties, as well as 
the duration ahd destiny of our Republican in- 
stitutions. 

Fifteen years ago, when the despotism of 
slavery was at the bught and plentitude of its 
power, and every interest, social and political, 
sub-er«ed its ends, California, in drafting a 
Constitution as one of the soverejgn States of 
the Union, decreed that no bondsman ever 
should be held by legal enactment or constitu- 
tional law within her limits. In laying down 
this broad principle of libt-rty and self-govern- 
t ment, her citizens were not actuated by the 
I spirit of '76 ; they did not desire to recognize 
tne negro as a man, nor to elevate him as a 
brother, but they seemed to be ^ded by an 
j axiom of the learned Blackstone, in his theory 
I upon the origin of governments, where he as- 
serts that " The only true and natural founda- 
tions of society are the wants and fears of its 
I individuals." The men of New England birth 
j and education who exercised a predominating 
influence, comprehending the magnitude of this 
dictum, and stimulated by the immense mineral 
and agricultural resources opened to industry, 
could not tolerate a system that enabled one 
man with his hundred poor, black, ignorant 
slaves, to compete with the brains, the energy 
and toil of the same number of white freejpen. 
They knew they owed fealty to compromises 
and expedient fugitive slave laws, but the greater 
law of self preservation outweighed all supposed 
obligations and consecrated the virgin soil of 
this young State to freedom. Sir, we have lived 
and prospered under the experiment, through 
the devastations of floods and fires, and Heaven 
still condaues to bless the land. Ilie motives 
that prompted the adoption of a free constitu- 
tion m 1 850, were those of policy, and are 
equally paramount now upon the expediency of 
negro suft^ge. California did not actively par- 
rticipate in the conflict of the great rebellion ; 
she has no sins to atone for to her disloyal 
element for the entombing of thousands of 
Southern chivalry ; but when dread embarass- 
ment nearly neutridized the efficiency of the 
Government, when^old and silver were like 
drops of precious blood oozing from a decaying 
body, her hardy sons drained ner hills and val- 
leys to retard ttie inflation of a paper currency ; 
to restore confidence to the farmer, the me- 



88 




cfaanic and tht merchant, and oacc mora to un- 1 
bu tb« eloMd doon of the manufacturer to 
employment. Wliat ahe failed to give phyai- ^ 
cal^ wa« imparted materially, and erery U)oa- ^ 
aand hard dollars sent at lucb a critical time, i 
from these golden shore*, waa equal to a bril- 1 
liant victory won by the fearlesa Hooker — 
towering in the clouds, or the gallant Porter, 
ploughing the majestic waters of the Missia- [ 
sippL 'ViiB vital question to be serioualy pon- 
dered over bv the Union man, who have been ' 
baptized in the grace of the Emancioation Proc- 
lamation is : If It was impolitic, at tne adoption 
of the Sute Constitution, to confide iu influ- 
ence and power upon those inimical to free la- 
bor, what can be gained now by permitting the 
same lurking, ambitious spirits to exercise pri- 
vileges over the loyal negro, under the benefi- ' 
cent government they have aimed to strike 
from the family of nations ? Do sane men 
believe that the temper which impelled the 
atrocities at Andersonville, capable to purify 
the Tory blood that sanctified the Hartford Con- 
vention, and reared that ephemeral dynasty at 
Richmond, which laid its corner-stone amid the 
agony of human sufftrings ? A mere amnesty 
oath, not sacred enough to quiver the lips of 
those who rejoiced at the massacre of Union sol- 
diers upon the bloody plains of Fort Pillow, 
cannot attest the fixed determination of unfeel- 
ing hearts. A thousand pardonings from a 
lenient President, a million voices sounding the 
redeeming grace of God's eternal word, will 
never remove the damning prejudice against 
the negro, and unappeasable hatred nourish 
ed against Yankee enterprises, Yankee ingenui- 
ty and Yankee success. The opponents of a 
reconstructed Government and of a reunited 
people are not yet appeased to the humiliaticn 
of defeat ; they are or a proud and revengeful 
spirit, educated ' in the opinion that they were 
b«m to rule, and dispense whatever immunities 
may accrue ; they have not yet relinquished the 
purposes they sought to accomplish upon the 
field of battle ; they are determined again to be 
in power, to curb the despised Yankees in all 
their isms, and grind deeper down in despair 
the unprotected negro. To perfect this unholy 
purpose, they may be seen merging with Short 
and Long Hairs rallying under ever)- deceptive 
banner, spreading their canvas to catch the 
popular breeze of the great People's Party, and 
m order to mislead, divide and scatter these 
great elements of Unionism, founded upon the 
patriotism of the immortal Lincoln, tney are 
endeavoring to arouse the vulgar apassions of 
the ignorant upon false issues against the ne- 
gro's undoubted claims to equality before the 
Law. I am here, sir, though of humble social 
position, and without notoriety, t.) warn those 
who are conservators of the pu!)lic peace, in 
whose places another generation, perhaps not 
so well experienced, are soon to stand, that the 
loyal heart and well directed vote of the negro 
should now be summoned to counteract the 
deep laid schemes of involving this nation in 
another revolution — not a revolution swayed by 
vast armii's, complete navies, and military he- 



roes, eclipsing the world in wonderful daring — 
but an insidious revolution of public sentiment, 
undermining the virtue and morality of the peo- 
ple, and drifting everr noble impulse of the 
numan heart down the vortex of corruption. 

This asvemblage, in behalf of the colored 
people throughout the State, and whose labors 
are indissolubly bound with all her interests, 
ask to become equals before the law, not from 
sympathy with their condition, but as they are 
made amenable to all her laws, simple justice 
demands that they should have a voice in se- 
lecting the administrators of its powers. They 
seek It upon the assumption that they are no 
longer an enslaved race, but full citizens accord- 
ing to the decision of Attorney-General Bates, 
and the recognition and acceptance of a black 
man in all his rights in the highest tribunals of 
the land. If the people of free and progressive 
California can jeopardize their reputations for 
these great qualities of discerning expediency, 
by withholding so great a boon, when consider- 
ing their attitude with the progress of liberal 
principles, they will stand disgraced and con- 
demned before the world for pretending to be 
governed by that sublime emanation tnat de- 
clares " all men free and equal." 

It is urged by Copperhead malice and stupidi- 
ty, that the negro is too ignorant to vote. Slay 
I not remind the authors of this evasive and 
flimsy pretext, that the negro in America, like 
the Israelites among the ancient Elgv'ptians, 
have watched superior character, assimilated 
with the same ideas, and imitated the same vir- 
tues, until out of a servitude of two hundred 
j and fifty years, they have not only made a name 
! which is a power of strength among civilized 
\ mankind, but thev have reared a nationality 
which is coextensive with the bme and future 
of the American people. The poor negro has 
indeed been severely scourged. Meeting the 
I contact so long denied his ancestry, but which 
I was essential to their full development, it haa 
I made them a new born race looking through a 
I long vista of departed years, and mjuruing 
over the past barbarism of the t'ace. Thank 
God, sir, tney are in America, and especially in 
our beloved California, no longer discordant In 
feeling. Every heart moves by the touch of 
, that chord which reverberates the sacred anthem 
^ of freedom ; they are no longer content with 
the inklings that escape the white oppressor*' 
tongues, because they have too often heard 
. those tongues one moment breathing devout 
' prayers to the Majesty of Heaven, and then 
again, almost in the same bre''th, uttering curse* 
, upon the weak and despised. I he false duties 
I of superstition have ceased to encumber their 
understandings, and truer oracles in the persona 
of refined colored men are reflecting the living 
light of truth ; bbck men are making and re- 
' cording their own history ; writing their own 
! literature ; coining their own poems ; preparing 
' their own school teat^hers, and disseminating 
useful information where it was never tasted or 
known before. 

The press, that mighty pendulum of human 
liberty, w now partly wielded by Anglo-African 



89 



genius. Refined by the great variety of learn- 
ing that is open to all, it is effecting a mighty 
work and changing the tide of events ; its col- 
umns are perused in the mansions of rulers, the 
halls of legislation, the sacred precincts of the 
judiciary, and the humble cabin of the miner ; 
It is emancipating the minds of those in wisdom 
and power from error, while it teaches its less 
favored votaries the grand principles upon 
which governments are foundea, and its i^aluta- 
ry prerogatives over all its subjects. Our peo- 
ple, being accustomed to act as directed, are 
I i quietly but surely receiving the hew light that 
I is breaking in upon them, and in anticipation 
of a higher sphere of action, are mastering the 
j difficulties of language, the intricacies of social 
and political law, and the breadth and scope of 
Constitutions. What class of citizens are they 
' who would smother the infant efforts of a strug- 
I j gling race, just emerging from the darkness of 
, I a long night into the oright beams of a dawning 
I day ? Can it be the noble bom American who 
' I will refuse us the right to drop a ballot as well 
I as to aim a bullet ? They should recollect that 
I their hours of youth, their days of manhood, 
and their decline of years, have been tenderly 
watched by the negro's kindness since the He- 
public was rocked in infancy. Can it be the 
]! warm and generous-hearted Irishman, who first 
!■ received here, in his adopted country, those 
I , gems of liberty that reverted his imagination 
back to the heroic death and epitaph of Kmmet, 
the gifted eloquence of Walton, and the patri- 
1 otic lesso»s of the incomparable O'Connell, — 
' I whose thrilling tones ever went to the hearts of 
men for liberty and equality to all races of men ? 

I ] Sir, do not tell me it is the honest and toiling 

German, whose fatherland has so long kept the 
' undimraed fires of freedom and indej-endence 
so brightly burning. Whv is it the charmed 
land that cradled renowned Luther and moulded 
the transcendant genius of Schiller. When did 
these people prove recreant ? For their love 
and struggles for liberty have illumed all Eu- 
rope and the world, from the dread conflicts of 
(i past ages to the memorable revolution of 184S. 
'; 1)0 I hear that it is the chivalric son of gigantic 
France, whose own great Lafayette dedicated 
! : life and fortunt to the maintenance of the rights 
i of man ? Have they degenerated from the elec- 
tric of the Marseillaise battle hjrmn of liberty, 
\ or will they attempt to wipe from memory the 
aspirations of their sincere but dreamy Lamar- 
I ; tine ? To all these people of different races, 
'i speaking different languages, and having di- 
verse notions of the true policy of the American 
j ' Government, I know that plausible argument 
I ; will be produced by our antagonist^ against the 

I I negro's right to equality before the law. But 

I i every righteous cause has always been assailed 
i I by subtle argument and almost convincing logic. 

II It is little over the lifetime of temperate men 
j' when England's most astute statesmen endea- 
i, Tored to make America believe thatijeorge IlL 
j : had a divine right to impose upon the infant 
1 1 colonies " taxation without representation ;" 
1 1 but Patrick Henry, in the House of Burgesses 
j of Virginia, and black Cripsus Attucks, in 

; L 



the streets of Boston, demurred, and the 
once bumble dependencies are now a mighty 
and expanding nation. I need not cite the 
massacre of M. Bartholomew, where the poor 
but faithful Huguenot bit the dust of persecution, 
the horrors of the Spanish inquisition, and the 
inhuman cruelties or the monster I'hilip the 
.Second — all of which have been justified by as 
potent argument as that now produced in oppo- 
sition to the negro's elevation. The negro's 
right to vote is indisputable, because wherever 
his mind has been educated he has given the 
same evidences of proficiency, because he baa 
I measured steps with the highest perfection of 
i man's courage, by three times signally rescuing 
the country from the most impending dangers ; 
because the wise men who lived about the time 
the National Government was framed, gave 
i black men the right to vote in North Carolina, 
I Viginia, Maryland, Delaware, and many other 
slave States, without detriment to the generaJ 
weal ; and it is a historical fact, that there is no 
word, no line, nor article, interpretative or con- 
structive, embodied in the great instrument, 
that invalidates the rights of freemen, white or 
black, from its adoption, eighty odd years ago, 
down to the infamous dogma uttered by Roger 
, B. Taney (oh, that •xecrable name, equal in 
infamy with the notorious Jeffries), the Dred 
Scott decision, enunciating that black men had 
no rights, because God so willed the color of 
their skins, — has left an indellible stain upop 
American jurisprudence, which in a free country 
should be the most important and useful to all 
classes of men. Why, sir, the spotless fame of 
Storey and Marahall will nearly become tarnish- 
ed in veneration of future generations through 
the very process of contact that seated such a 
man upon the same bench or under the same 
roof wnere they dispensed the Godlike attri- 
butes of justice, Tn? word white, Mr. Presi- 
dent, in the Constitution of Califoniia, is anti- 
republican — at variance with the good sense 
and magnanimity of her people, repugnant to 
many of her sister States, inconsistent with 
the pi-esont age, and unwise when considered in 
connection with the intercourse soon to be Es- 
tablished with the copper-colored nations of 
< 'hina and Japan. We, as black jpen, concede 
the fact that a few years since, when our inte- 
rest was mingled wnth slaverv' and degradation, 
and when the interest of this flourishing .State 
was under the dominion of such satellites as W. 
M. Gwin, and P. T. Herbert, and J. B. WeUer, 
that the black race had nothing to look for but 
cold indifference and contemptible hatred j but 
now that the country is reeling upon the brink 
of ruin, with a yawning abyss of destruction 
awaiting to receive its crumbling wreck, we ask, 
calmly but firmly, shall we not be allowed once 
; more to prop its qighty superstructure, so that 
it may stand the ravages of time ? Remember, 
' men in power, the vast responsibilities resting 
; upon your judgment Other nations have pass- 
ed through somewhat similar ordeals like your* 
1 before they became strong and consolidated ; 
but none like yours have ever been seen trjdng 
to devise escapes from the strongest and most 



90 




reliable element of their support. If tou are in- 
spired bv that patriotism that sinks all conside- 
ration ot prejudice, to the (greatness and glory 
of America's future, then all will be welL But 
if eipediency and narrow contracted views goT- 
em your councils, and the unmistakable purpose 
of 1 'ivine authority be disregarded, then, like ' 
the perverse nations of old, ^rand and now : 
beautiful America will be mingling with their 
mouldering decay. 

After Mr. llall had concluded, Rev. Mr. ' 
Moore said : i 

Mr. President: — On rising to address this 
Convention upon the momentous subject (po- 
litical franchise), the first great right of an ; 
American citizen, which we are deprived of in 
this State by a Constitutional prohibition, I am 
aware, sir, that for me to attempt to supersede j 
the able speech of the gentleman who nas just 
taken his seat — whose masterly oratory, stiring 
pathos, and thundering eloquence, has captured 
every thought in the house — such an attempt 
by me would be the vainest act of my life. Yet, 
-sir, I cannot let this great question of our right | 
to the political franchise pass, without adding a i 
word in behalf of out claim to that right. I 

I wish, sir, to make a few remarks upon the i 
FTOund of our appeal to the State Legislature 
for the concession of our right of suffrage, by 
an amendment to the State Constitution, so as 
to secure to us this God given ri^ht. 'ITie 
Chairman of the Committee on Franchise, in his 
ver)' profound remarks on presentiug the ablt 
report, made a brilliant allusion to the une- 
qualled braverj- of the American negro as a sol- 
aier — as tested in the blof. Jy strife of the rebel- 
lion just past, where theSiaiion's >\v'istence was 
staked upon the battle-field, in a ciiance at war. 
From this point he presented a Lia->teily appeal 
as a basis of our claim. Now, sli to this cate- 
gory of argument in favor of our sacred ca'ise, 
we wish to contribute. Sir, in the outset we 
appeal to the Legislature of a Christian people 
for our right of suffrage, upon the broad princi- 
ple of humnn justice, as taught by the great 
rule, " Do unto others as you would they should 
do unto you. ' Ask tLem, if, in our stead, 
they would be willing to consent to such injus- 
tice as we suffer by them. Would the) like 
such treatment ^t our hands ? If honest in 
their answer, they will tell us no. Ask them 
if it was wrong for England to impose upon 
their forefathers " taxation without representa- 
tion ? " They must answer yerf*, or condemn 
their revolutionar)- fathers. Ask them if taxa- 
tion without representation was any greater in- 
justice imposed upon their forefathers, by Kng- 
land, than as imposed upon us by the law of 
this State? Jf candid, they will answer no — 
A\ hy, then, will a Christian peonle commit 
such a flagrant wrong, which they so loudly con- 
demn in others ? Why will they perpetrate a 
knowing wrong upon a people because they 
know that they have not power to vindicate by 
force their just rights ? 

We appeal to them upon the principle of 
man's natural equal rights, as vindicated and 



set forth in the "Declaration of Americf<n Inde- 
pendence" — upon which rests the foundation of 
the Republic. That declaration sets forth that 
"All men are created equal" in human rights, 
or have the same natural rights, which man 
cannot jusdy invade or take away ; and that to 
secure these rights equally to all men, " Gov- 
ernments are established among men, deriving 
their just powers from the consent of the gov- 
erned." This is the doctrine of the Declara- 
tion of Independence ; if this sentiment is 
wrong, why do not the American people blot it 
from their political creed ? If it is nght, then we 
appeal for our natural right to "Equality before 
the Law," as it sets fortL We appeal to them 
as friends of their own Republican principles, 
which they violate when they refuse us the 
right of suffrage. 

We ask for our rights, upon the principle of 
our loyalty ; we have never sworn falsely to the 
(jovemment; we have never taken up arms 
against it, — we have never attempted to betray 
it into the hands of foreign powers. This is what 
no other race of men can truthfully assert in 
America. We have prayed for it — fought for 
it — bled for it, and perished by thousands in its 
defence. 

We make our appeal upon the principle of 
our patriotism. \S'e have consecrated every 
battle-field of the countr)- with our blood, to 
maintain its existence, from our love to the 
country, while it thrusts us with a cold heart 
and villainous hand from all its political rights 
and immunities. We mllied around its only 
standard of hope and fought in, deadlv battle, 
the countries worst foes, foreign and domestic. 
He who doubts this, let him read the historv- of 
the death warrants of the battle grounds from 
Bunker Hill to Richmond, where black Ameri- 
can warriors now sleep in their bloody winding 
sheets, in thousands. No race on .\merican 
soil, has given such proof of patriotism as the 
black race ; without boasting, we challenge a 
refutation of this position. We csk history, 
has any other nation on earth, under the light 
of Christianity, ( but .\merica ), disfranchised 
its most loyal and patriotic citizens ; preferring 
to grant franchise to those that have desired 
' and aimed to destroy the Government ? We 
ask our (iovernment to be as Republican as 
England, though prononnced a tyrannical mon- 
archy. She gives her black and her tcAiVe citizens 
alike privileges in political franchise ; while in 
Republican America, white citizens only have 
the universal privilege of suffrage. We ask 
for our right to "Eoualitj- before the Law" upon 
the principle, that, if it does not degrade the 
white fan to fight along side of the negro on 
the batile-field to save the country, or save the 
lives of white American citizens, it will not de- 
grade white men, to vote side by side with ne- 
groes, to preserve a Republican form of Gkv- 
emraent, and preserve tne country from another 
war, which it does not require inspiration to 
I predict, if the claims of justice are not meted 
I out in Government affairs. We claim our 
rights of suffrage upon the ground that the op- 
ponents of our right to " Equality before tne 



91 



Law," have never adduced a single sound argu- 
ment to prove what they raise as an objection 
to our right of suffrage ; that is, that it will 
degrade the white man, deterioate the Saxon 
i^e, amalgamate the two races, and take the 
country out of white men's hands. We can 
prove by calling the history of the country to 
our support that the spint that opposes the 
black man's right to " Equality Defore the 
Law," has been baptised by the very institution 
of the country, (slavery), that has been foster- 
ing for two and a half centuries, the very evil* of 
which our enemies pretend to fear. 

The thirteen original States, at one period of 
their history, ( all but South Carolina), allowed 
their colored citizens to vote ; and history does 
not place a single fact upon record, showing 
that granting the' negroes the right of suffrage 
in any of those States engendered amalgama- 
tion of the black and white races, or that it 
caused a deterioration of the Saxon race, nor 
was the Government ever threatened Vith black 
sovereignty. No ! this was not the fear of po- 
litical power in the black man's hand ; it was 
slavery looking out for its own interest, feared 
the free negro in political power ; because he 
was of the enslaved race, and in stronger sym- 
pathy with the slave ; it took its stand-point in 
South Carolina, and swept from the negro's 
hand the ballot box in every State it could in- 
fluence politically ; and it is the spirit of slavery 
that now opposes negro suffrage throughout 
the land. 

We hurl back with scorn and contempt the 
frequent intimation of scurrilous newspapers 
that granting us " Equality before the Law," 
would induce us to thrust ourselves into '.he 
society of the whites. Notwithstanding they, 
through their beloved institution of slavery, 
have thrust their race upon us, — we want it to 
be particularly understood, we never have had 
and are not likely to have, any particular fond- 
ness for the Saxon race above our own. What- 
ever isolated cases of amalgamation of the two 
races have occurred in any part of the country, 
on marriage principles, on the part of the 
whites it has been mostly the Irish, who pre- 
tend to be the most violent enemies of negro 
rights ; and what is a remarkable truth, that 
where such conjugal unity takes place, while the 
party of the Celtic race retains his caste or 
social standing, the party of the African race 
looses his caste or social standing generally 
among his sable brethren, of the higher order of 
society. We appeal to every true American whose 
voice shall resound in the proud capital over 
which the glorious stars and stripes shall float, to 
give us our rights in the name and spirit of the 
murdered and immortal Lincoln, who sealed 
our rights with his hallowed blood, who said 
this people, ( the colored ), ought to have 
" Equality before the Law." 

Upon these logical principles we make our 
simple, unsophisticated and earnest appeal to 
every friend of justice and humanity — every 
Republican, true Union loving man and Chris- 
tian, in the Legislature, in the State and in the 



country. In vindication of our holy cause, we 
appeal to every true Union journal m the State 
tnd on«the Pacific coast, wnile we shall also 
supplicate with Christian fervor, the Great 
Sovereign of all men, and of all nations of men, 
and the absolute defender of human rights, 
and all great principles in his moral govern- 
ment ; to Him also will we appeal for an inter- 
posing hand" in the defence of our glorious 
cause, while there is a sable American son to 
plead for justice to his race. This is our land 
where we have had our birth, for it we have 
fought and bled, here we will remain, as a race, 
until eternities thunders shake us from this 
soil. 

The d('l)atc' was further continuod by 
Mr. K. U. Sinull, who Bald he would be 
false t« his constituents and to his princi- 
ples if he did uot express his own and their 
sentiments of the adoption of the report 
and the memorial or petition. In urging 
our claim to e(iual rights we should occu- 
py the highest position ; we should be im- 
porttinate and persistent ; we should re- 
quest of the Legislature the privilege of 
telling our own story ; we should have our 
orators, men of eloquence, to address the 
Legislature on that important subject ; we 
should also have our agents and orators to 
canvass the State, and appeal to the peo- 
ple. There is nothing more powerful than 
eloquence to sway the minds of the peo 
pie. We should, by our orators, present 
stirring, eloquent appeals to the domi- 
nant race for our rights. There is nothing 
of greater influence than the living, breath- 
ing agent. The press is also an impor- 
tant clement in this matter, and we should 
support our newspapers, as a fearless, out- 
spoken periodical is greatly needed. We 
have many white friends whose papers 
speak nobly in our favor ; but we can 
best tell our own story, and advocate our 
own cause. He was in favor of adopting 
the report. 

On the concFusion of Mr. SmaH'g re- 
marks the report of the Committee on 
Elective Franchise was adopted. 

Rev. T. M. D. Ward, Chairman of the 
Committee on Industrial Pursuits, pre- 
sented the report of the Committee, which 
he prefaced with appropriate remarks. 



92 



Report of the Coxnmitta* on Industrial 
Pursuits. 

We, the Committee, to whom wa* assigned 
the diity of reporting on Industrial Purtuita, 
bee leave to submit the following : 

WiUJiEAS, the aphorism long since expressed 
that the indolent shall eat the bread of sorrow, 
has been abundantly corroborated by the expe- 
rience of the past, therefore it is an ordination 
of God, that man shall earn his bread by the 
sweat of his brow; toil and suffering, care and 
sorrow, are in this life our allotted inheritance. 
Would we command the respect of the ruling 
class, we must possess a knowledge of mechan- 
ism, become owners and tillers of the soil, aban- 
don the cities, drop menial employments and 
become producers an well as coniumers. We, 
in our conventional capacity, conceive it to be 
the imperative duty of parents and guardians 
to give their sons trades and teach them the 
dignity of labor. He who will not work shall 
not eat, is the stem declaration of Sacred h'rit. 
The young men who spend their time in idle- 
ness, or what is still worse, in following vo- 
cations which not onlj- infringe upon the civil 
law but comes in conflict with the higher law of 
Heaven, should be reminded that the entrance 
into industrial pursuits alone will secure to 
them health, wealth, contentment and respect. 

Therefore be it Resolved, 

1. — That we recommend the colored people 
of the I'acific Stales and Territoties, to secure 
farm's, purchase homesteads, enter largely into 
quartz and other branches of mining, engage in 
mechanical and manufacturing occupations and 
eagerly embrace eyery method and opportunity 
which will insure profit, honor and indepen- 
dence. 

2. — That our colored traders, mechanics and 
manufacturers, receive from us every encour- 
agement possible. 

3. — That we recommend the formation of 
agricultural associations, established on the 
principle of joint stock companies, putting the 
price of shares at such a rate as will make them 
accessible to all classes of men. 

4. — That where our men have not the money 
wherewith to buy farms, that they be advised 
to unite in comjjanies and rent lands for agri- 
cultural purposes. 

5. — That we urge upon the people of this 
coast to seek unsettled lands and pre-empt 
them, as is the right of every American citizen. 

6. — That a Committee of three be appointed 
to present to the proper authorities tne expe- 
diency of the employing of from twenty to forty 
thousand freedmen on the great I'acific Rail- 
road, and to petition the honorable the Legisla- 
ture of California through our Representatives 
in Congress to procure such aid from the Fede- 
ral (Jovemment a^ to them may seem fit, for 
the follow ing reasons : 

I — To speedily complete tMs great National 
enterprise. 

li — 'ITie value and the .heapness of the labor 
•ought. 



. in — That it will effectually settle the too fre- 
quent incursions of hostile Indians. 
I IV — It will greatly add to the wealth of the 
country, in the cultivation of adjacent lands and 
the development of the mineral resources of a 
hitherto unexplored portion of the great Pacific 
slope. 

V — That it will afford labor to a class of peo- 
ple whose sympathies, hope* and aspirations 
are thoroughly identified with the g^-owth, pros- 
perity and glory of the American Republic. 
I ' 7.— That we hail with joy inexpressible, as 
one of the practical movements of tne freedmen, 
their settled and persistent determination to be- 
come owners of the soil of their own fruitful 
Soutk. 

T.'M. D. Wakd, 1 

J. J. MouKi:, 

J. P. Dtkr, 

J. M.U)ni;N, 

B.vsiL Campbell. )■ Committee. 

Aako.n L. Jacksox, 

K P. HlIT-.N. 
Jlfi.tK.-* L. K0<ilCK.<, 

EUWARD W, Pakkkr, 

The following rreanible and Resolution 
'wa.s offtrtd by J. H. Starkcy : 

WnERE.\s, It is oflen asserted that there is a 
division among the colored inhabitants of this 
State, in matters appertaining to their political 
interests ; and whereas, the harmony prevailing 
in this Convention, the friendly feeling existing 
and the unanimity of action, fully contradicts 
that assertion ; be it therefore 
1 Resolved — That on the return of the members 
of this Convention to their constituents, they 
exert their utmost influence to treate a unity of 
feeling and of action among the colored people 
of this .State. 

Adopted, Item. con. 

A communication was recelTcd from 
Mr. Henry Williamson of Sacramento, in- 
forming the Convention that he owned a 
mining ditch in Amador county, which lie 
wished to sell. Read and laid on the table 

Benediction by the Chaplain. 

Adjourned. 



Third Day.— Evening Session. 

Convention met at 7 o'clock, in the A. 
M. E. Church, Seventh street. In the ab- 
sence of the President and Vice Presidents, 
Mr. R. II. Small was appointed President 
pro tern. 

\ Prayer by the Chaplain. Roll called. 
Minutes of l:ist meeting read and approved. 
Moved, that the special order of busi- 
I ness be deferred half an hour. Carried. 



93 



The report of The Businesii Committee 
was further discussed, and the separate 
resolutions adopted. 

Myvcd, that a Publishing Committee of 
live members be appointed, to piilijisli the 
proceedings of this Convention in pamph- 
let form. Carried 

The Chairman appointed the following 
as the Publishing Committee, 

P. A. Bell, E. P. Duplex, 

J. J. Moore, W. H. Chri.'stoplier, 

E. A. Clark. 

To which, at the suggestion of the Chair- 
man of the Committee, was added the name 
of J. MadisoD Bell, 

The time having expired, the special 
order wa.s called up. 

Kcv. J. U. Hubbard, Chairman of the 
Committee ofi Public Morals, prtscnted 
the following report, which was unani- 
mously adopted : 

Where.\s, there are no features in the char- 
acter of any people more ennobling and eleva- 
ting, than a strict observance of the principles 
of .Morality and Religion, and as our enemies ea- 
gerly grasp every opportunity to missrepresent 
our eondition and malign our character ; there- 
fore, be it 

Rtsolted — That we recommend to our 
brethren a more consistent course than invest- 
ingtheir means in gambling-houses and bar- 
rooms. 

Rtsolvtd — That we adjure our brethren 
throughout the State, to adhere faithfnlly to 
the teachings of Morality and ReUgion, which 
will shed lustre around tha pathway of their 
lives and give credit to the race. 

Rtso/rerf — That we abhor and discountenance 
liecentiousness, — that this violation of God's 
law, disgrace, penury, and the bane of domestic 
happiness, may disappear from our midst. 

Reaolred — That we admonish our brethren to 
shun the' intoxicating bowl as they would the 
embrace of a deadly serpent. 

Raolved — That the practice of gambling, the 
desolator of thousands of otherwise happy 
homes, the goal of fervent hopes and high aspi- 
rations, the precursor of early dissolution, re- 
ceives our uncompromising denunciation. 
J. H. HUBB.\RD, i 

J. J. MooRE, > Committee. 

P. Kelllvgworth, ) 

Rev. J. H. Hubbard, Chairman of tha 
Committee on Condolence, presented the 

following : 

ResolutioiiS of Condolence. 
WgEREAS, man's frailty is a fixed conclusion, 
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken 



ns unawares ; and as since the assemblinf of our 
last Convention, our brethren and co-laborer*, 
John O. Wilson and Wra. N. Bedford, have 
been summoned to the Bar of "^the Triune God ; 
therefore, 

Raolved— We lament their loss but submit 
to the ruling of~that Providential hand which 
doeth all things well. 

- Rtsolvtd — The down-trodden and proscribed, 
have lost in them, earnest sympathizers and 
zealous laborers. 

Rtsolvtd — The State has lost in them, men 
whose hearts throbbed alike for the undying 
principles of liberty and the perpetuity of the 
Government 

Rtsolvtd — They being dead, do speak, and 
history of the reverend chronicler of ine grave, 
will proclaim in trumpet tones, to generations 
unborn, they, as true men, wore with impa- 
tience, the yoke of proscription. 

Resolved — When in after years, the roll of 
California's truest sons shall be ealled, while 
the names of W. H. Newby and John Freeman, 
shine with resjjlendant brightness, those of 
John (J. Wilson and William N. Bedford, will 
occupy a conspicious place upon the list 

Rtsolvtd — We, the represent itives of the 
colored citizens of ("alifomia, tender to the 
friends and relatives of the deceased, our heart- 
felt sympathy. 

J H HlBB.\RD, "i 

P. Kellixgworth, > Committee. 
R. H. Sm.\ll, ) 

The Resolutions were ado[ited, after 

which, .Mr. Hubbard delivered an eloqueut 

eulogy. 

The President having arrived, Mr. Small 
vacated the Chair. After the eulogy was 
delivered, the resolution from the Business 
Committee to appoint a State Executive 
Committee of one from each Judicial Dis- 
trict, was taken up, when it was moved 
that a Committee of five member^be ap- 
pointed to nominate a State Executive 
Committee Carried. 

The President appointed 

P. A..B*11. J. R. Starkey, 

E. A. Clarke, Jas. Cefos, 

W. II. Christopher. 

The following Preamble and resolutions 
were presented by the Sacramento Dele- 
gation. They were read, and, on motion, 
ordered to be publi.shed in the minutes : 

Wuereas, We, the delegates chosen by the 
poeule of the city and county of Sacramento, to 
meet in Convention on the 25th day of Oct. 
1865, and act in conjunction with delegates ac- 
credited from the several counties of the Stale 
of California, believe that the time has come 
when every man of color should aim at the ele- 



94 



vation of bis race ; and to do this,- vTe must 
unit« in advancinf< measures which shall have a 
tendency to strengthen our influence with our 
more favored ritiiens, therefore be it 

Resolved — I hat it is with pride we cite the 
fact, that in those States wherein we have the 
right of franchise, there is not on record an in- 
stance of our having abused the privilege; that 
as we have stood bv the side of tne Union, Lib- 
erty and Justice, with the bayonet, so would we 
do with the ballot. 

Resolved — That education being the conser- 
vator of liberty, we desire to have extended to 
our children greater educational facilities, in 
justice to us as a law abiding and tax paying 
people. 

Resolved — That we emphatically condemn 
any course other than one calculated to pro- 
mote harmony, union of tliought and action 
amongst us, as suicidal to our interest as a 
people. 

Resolved — That we would be untrue to our 
race, unless we pledged ourselves to try by all 
fair and peaceable mcan^, to impress on the 
dominant race, that the. country is only half 
saved, slavery only half abolished and the war 
but half ended, untit all of the disal)ling laws 
which were the natural fruits of slavery are 
repealed, and universal suf&age exist in every 
State in the Union. 

Bi'iii'iiictii'ii bv the Cliaiilain. 
•• * 

Adjoiumd. 



SATiRriAY, OcTORFR 28th. 
Fourth Day.— Morning Session. 

I'rayer l>y tin.' Uliaplaiii. Moll called. 
MiiiiUi'Bdf lust inc'ctin;;;retid and approved. 

Fiuancc Commiltfeprcstutod their re- 
port as f( ijluw.s : f 

Aiiuiunt of funds collected from 

thirty I)i'U-jf;it«--. in accinlance 

wilh'Ri-soluliMn — *3 rach $90 00 

Rent of .\. M. K Clmrcli. .■^•v«nth «t.$l J 00 
K\|nn»cs. .Sxtoii of .M. K. (.'hiirch. 

.<i\lli -in-ft , 5 00 

Hire of tatili-s and chairs " 2 00 

.StalioDiTV 2 00 

I'afo. . . .". 2 00 

$26 00 

Bal Ance $B4 00 

The Coinmittrc ri-'omtnfml that the balance in 
hand ho viiliject to iLi- ordrr of th-j I*ubli:«liing 
Comniiite«'. 

Tlic report was adojjtcd. 

The Nominating runnnittcc requested 
leave of absence forconstiltaticiu. Granted. 

The report of the Business Committee 
was taken up. The iinOni.shed business 
wa.s refern d to the Executive Committee. 

The report of the Industrial Committee 



was takeu«up. Moved, that so mueli uf 
! the report as refers to the Freedrneii, mid 
j the action necessary to employing them 
[on railroads, be referred to the llxecutivv 
, Committee. Carried. 

! Mr. Moore stated that Mr. J. Madilcn, 

j 

! of Santa Clara, was an experienced furnier, 

I and he would suggest, in the ubHciice of 
other business, that he be retiuested to 
address the Conveution on tiiat sultject. 

; No objection being made, Mr. Muddeit 

; proceeded to address tiic house? 

Mr. Madden said he was boni in South 
Carolina, lived in town until a young man. 

i when lie weut to farming. Hail never ex- 
perienced any of the hardships of plauta- 
tioii life, but had seen the ell'ects on others. 
Wlieu he obtained his freedom he weut to 
farming, and had probably made as much 
progress as many who had been b'jni 

; free. lie is satisfied that farming is the 
most healthy, lucrative and iudependent 
business that can be pursued ; the prolits 
are accruing while we are slee|)ing. Had 
hioved from towns and cities, and went to 
Arkansa's ; could not tht-Q purchase forty 
acres of land ; when he left he owned 

i nearly a thousand acres. Farming gives 
character to any people. The colored 
people of Santa Clara are industrious, and 
mostly engaged in agricultural and me- 
chanical pursuits. 

After Mr. Madden had concluded, it was 
moved by> R. F. Shorter, that a vote of 
thanks be tended to the Executive Com- 
mittee of San Francisco for their noble and 
successful labors in originating and bring- 
ing about this Conveution. Carried, unan- 
imously. 

Mr. Shorter said that Santa Clara coun- 
ty was with this Convention and its ac- 
tions, in financial and other matters, heart 
and hand. He was willing to oiler his 
life as a sacrifjce, if necessary, to obtaiu 
equal rights for his pcoijle. He had offer- 
ed his household gods on the altar of free- 
dom — be had sons and nephews in the 
army. He was willing to forgive ourenc- 
miea — but wc want <5ur rights. 



95 



Mr. Hoyt (by permisaion) addressed 
the Convention on matters <appertaining 
to the general interest of the country. 

Mr. Killingworth, of Santa Rosa, said 
his constituents were willing to sustain 
the action of this Convention, by tlicir 
means, and by greater sacrifices, if neces- 
sary, lie was born a slave, as was also 
his wife. He is seventy-five years old. 
At sixty-two he paid $3,000 for himselt 
and wife, in Atlanta, Georgia. Lost his 
wife in this country, and her bones lie in 
the free soil of El Dorado. He is willing 
to make any sacrifice for his people. Never 
received any schooling ;. what little he 
knew he picked up. He wished the 
young |i('(i|ile would profit by study. Tiie 
black man, although wronged by the 
whites, are tiieir best friends. He is now 
t-njoying hi.s best days in freedoom and 
aniiiug his children. U<: is very old now, 
and must soon depart ; he Wnuld not die, 
but go to sleep and wake in glory with the 
angels. 

Rev. M. C. Rriggs said this Convention 
had given him more gratification tiian any 
similar assemblage he had ever attended. 
It is the opening of the status of the color- 
ed race. Was satisfied that the delibera- 
tions and actions of this Convention would 
convince all of the ability of colored men 
"to legislate and claim their rights. He 
was pleased with the religious reverence 
showed, and hiij)ed God would remove all 
obstacles. On the subject of education, 
he was opposed to asking for an endow- 
ment ; would consider that a precedent 
for si'ctionul schools. Claim all your 
rights, — from the jiriinary to the high 
6ch"ol. He regreted the Convention had 
not met in his Church last night. It was 
a misunderstanding on the part of the 
Sexton. He expected they would have met 
there, and they might have used as much 
gas as was wanted. He also said tiiat 
suflTrago belongs to all men, whether foreign 
or to the manor born. As regards the Fe- 
nian resolution presented yesterday, it may 
be a matter of expediency, but he did not 
always feel justified in using j)olicy. He 



always stood up for justice and principle, 
and if justice falls, he is willing to fall 
with it. After some more pertinent re- 
marks, Mr. Briggs took his scat. 

Mr. Moore moved that the Fenian reso- 
lution offered yesterday be referred to the 
Business Committee. Carried. 

Whereupon he presented the following 
substitute, which was adopted : 

Whereas, The colored citizens of Califomui 
sympathize with the oppressed of all nations^ 
and every race and clime, and express our wil- 
lingness to extend our aid to everj- effort of 
the oppressed to free themselves from bondage, 
whether it is personal servitude or political dis- 
franchisement, we therefore resolve 

1st, That the result* of the lat^ unfortunate 
and unsuccessful revolutions of Poland and 
Hunpar)' to free these countries Irom the tyran- 
ny of Russia and -^ ustria, cause regret and 
commiseratioh to every friend of human liberty. 

2d, That, notwithstanding the opposition we 
receive from Irish immigrant* in America, whose 
prejudices are excited against us by the misna- 
med Democratic Party, every effort to rid Ire- 
land of English bondage, and establish Irish 
independence meets our cordial approbation. 

■id, That the conduct of many or the leading 
men of Great Britain during our late war was 
hypocritical — against the true opinions of the 
Eng'ish people, and showing that the aristo- 
cracy are governed by interest more than by 
principle. 

Moved, by W. H. Hall, that so much of 
the report of the Committee on Education 
as refers to asking the Legislature for an 
endowment to the San Jo.se School bo 
stricken out. Carried. 

Mr. Hoyt advised the forming of joint 
stock companies for farniing and other 
purposes. He had had experienc(f in some 
of the Western States. In new countries 
joint stock companies for agricultural pur- 
poses were very successful — the indivi- 
duals generally made more money than 
those wlio Worked separately. 

Tlie Committ<?€ appointed to nominate 
a State Executive Committee, presented 
the following Report : 

There are fifteen Judicial Districts in 
this State, all of which are not represi'nt- 
ed in this Convention, and we believe 
some have a very small population of 
colored persons. Your Committee have 
therefore in;ide the selection according to 
their best judgment : 



96 



\tst District — Los Aiipolcs, San Bcniar- 
dini), San Pi<'go, San Luis Obispo, and 
Santa Barbara— no nomination. 

2d District — Tehama, Butte, riumas, 
and Lassen — John 0. Jenkins. 

M District — Alameda, Monterey, Santa 
Clara, and Santa Cruz— 1{. F. Siioktf.r. 

ilh District — Northern part of ^an 
Franeisco — ?Iohn J. Moorf.. 

bih DidricI — San Joaquin, Tuolumne, 
Mono, and Aljune- Wm. W. Lf.e. 

Cith District — Sacramento and Yolo — 
Basil Campbell. 

'th lUslrict — Marin, Mendoeinn, Napa, 
S'>lano, Siiiioma, and Lake — Er>. Hatti.ix. 

Sth Distrirt — Klamath, Del Norte, and 
Humboldt — no nomination. 

9/Y I'lstrict -r- Shasta, Siskiyou, and 
Trinity- — J. J. I'inpeli.. 

IO//1 District — Sutter, Yuba, Ctjjlus.i, and 
Sierra — Kmward P. IHplex. 

Wth Distri't — El Dorado, Amador, and 
Calaveras — James Cefos 

12//! Dislrul — Southern part of San 
Francisco, and San Mateo — \l. A. Haii,. 

ISth District — Fresno, Mariposa, Mer- 
ced, St.snislaiis, ami Tulare — Mose.s L. 

HcHJER.'i. 

\it}i Di.-irict — Nevada and Placer^ — D. 
D. Cartek. 

\i)tii Distri't — San Francisco an J Con- 
tra Costa — W. H. Yates. 

4'he Cummittee reconmiendcd the fol- 
lowiii}^ resolutions : 

L — That two tidditii-'iial members be ap- 
pojntidto re]ires(iit the ."^tate at lar^T''. 

II. — The Committee to .compilete their 
ijr^anization by si^h-ctiiiLC tlii-ir ulTicers and 
making all nece.-sary apj)niiitmeiits. 

HI. — The Committee have power to fill 
all vacaiicie-s. 

F. A. Bell, 

Ja-. ('kFh.s, 

J. i;. Stakkv.y, I- Com'tee 

W. 11. Cni:i.-T"WIEB, 
E. A. (,'lakk, 

The re[port was adopted, wi^th the rc- 
conimendations. 

On motion of E. A. Clarke, P. A. Boll, 
of San Francisco, and W . IL Harper, of 
Sacramento, were appointed to represent 
thf St .te at largo. 

Itev. J. J. Moore read an instructive 
essay on our moral, relifrious and political 
duties, which was referred to the Pubiish- 
iii-r (.'ommittfe. 



The President left his seat, and it was 
occupied by Win. H. Hall, when it was 
moved that a vutc of thanks be tendered 
to the Executive Committee of Sacra- 
mento for the arragements they made for 
holding the Convention. Carried. 

Moved, that we tender a vote of thanks 
to the ladies of Sacramento for their gen- 
eral attendance at the meetings of the 
Convention. Carried. 

Moved, that a vote of thanks be tender- 
ed Ur Rev. M. C. Briggs for the gratuitous 
use of his Church yesterday. Carried. 

Moved, that a unanimous vote of thanks 
be tendered to the President of this Con- 
vention, for the judicious manner in which 
be has presided over the deliberations of 
the Convention, the impartiality of his de- 
cisions, and the ability with which he has 
performed the arduous duties of his ofBce. 
Carried, b}' acclamation. 

Mr. Hall, on retiring from the Chair, 

which had been temporarily vacated by 

the President, saitl : 

In tendering you, sir, the complimentary 
resolutions oflercd by the gcntk'man from Kl 
Dorado, (Mr. Small,) it affords me the highest 
gratification to perceive by their import, and 
the unanimity of their ^doption by this Conven- 
tion, a sense of appretiation and gratitude for 
the faithful services you have ever devoted to 
the elevation of your race. I am not inclined 
to extravagant commendation, but when I see 
the representatives of a peo])lc, heretofore 
charged with envy and distrust, indicating thaf 
the sacrifices of long tried public men are duly 
remembered, it fills me with the livt-liest emo- 

! tions of hope Tor the black men who are to oc- 
cupy the places now filled by us. 'fruiting that 
you may be animated to press forward in the 

I noble work of redeeming our race from unju. t 
aspersion, I leave the example of this moment 
to the contemplation of those who are deter- 
mined to engage in the same cause. 

On taking his seat, the President made 

the following remarks : 

Gentlemtn of the Conveniion : 

I am overpowered by this new evidence of 
your kindness and appreciation of m> humble 
effortJi to faithfully perform the responsible duty 
of the office 1 am about to vacate. I am re- 
assured, by this flattering testimonial, that I 
have succeeded where I had feared to fail, and 
I retire from the (Untinguished position of Presi- 
dent of the Fourth Convention held by the 
colored citiz»-n8 of this State, with feelings of 
intense pride and gratification. Gratified in 
having my past acts of duty, to myself and my 



97 



fellow men, so kindly remembered, 80_ richly 
rewarded ; proud of the harmony, amenity and 
unity of purpose that has characterized this 
Convention ; and very proud of the wisdom, 
enthusiaam and eloquence that has been mani- 
fested upon every subject of importance pre- 
sented to this Convention, and I heartily con- 
gratulate our people of California (through you, 
gentlemen, their representatives) upon the hon- 
est and very able manner their important inte- 
rests have been considered' and acU'd upon. 
Permit me, however, to remind you, gentlemen, 
that the close of this body is but the beginning 
of the great and ennobling end we seek to 
achieve, to effect which requires us to work 
steadily, perseveringly. Let us, then, return to 
our constituents, thoroughly impress upon them 
the importance of immediate and continuous 
action ; stimulate them to wisdom in council, 
unity in purpose ; prepare them to receive and 
promptly act upon the views they will receive 
from the State Executive Committee which this 
Convention has created. Knowing ourselves, 
do not let them forget that eternal vipUtnce is 
the price of liberty. Let each one of us faith- 
fully perform our duty without pausing, until 
our laoors are rewarded by the bestowal of that 
right which, under the glorious principles of tfae 
Constitution of the United States, is the only 
patent of manhood issued, viz. : the right of 
Elective Franchise. 

After the address by the President, it 
was moved that the thanks of this Con- 
vcDtion be tendered to the Vice Presi- 
dents and Secretaries, for the able dis- 
charge of their duties. 



Moved that the thanks of this Convenr 
tion be tendered to Rev. J. J. Moore, 
Chairman of the Business Committee, and 
the members thereof, for their prompt and 
e£Bcient labors in producing and arranging 
business. 

The above motions were carried by ac- 
clamation. 

The President then inqtiired if there 
was any further business before the Con- 
vention, and no response being made, he 
called upon the Chaplain, Father Kelling- 
worth, to pronounce a benediction. 

The Chaplain requested the audience to 
join in singing the " Battle Hymn of the 
Republic'" 

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming 
of the Lord." 

After which he pronounced the benedic" 
tion, and thg President solemnly declared 
the Convetilion adjourned sine die. 

F. G. BARBADOES, 

President. 

W. H. Harper, 1st Vice President. 

Basil Campbell, 2d Vice President. 

P. A. Bell, Secretary. 

W.H Christopher, ) ^^^,^ g^^, 

E. P. Duplex, ) •' 



DELEG^ 



San Francisco : 
J. J. Moore, T. M. D. Ward, 

D. W. RcGGLES, R. A. Hall, 
J. R. Starkey, E. W. Parker, 
Wm. H. Hall, P.^Asderson, 
Wm. U. Yates, E.' P. Hiltos, 
H. M. Collins, represented by proxy, 
J. Smallwood, represented by proxy, 
J. Madisos' Bell, not present. 

Sacramento : 
W. H. Harper, E. A. Clark, 
L. P. Hickman, A. L. Jackson, 
A. D. Berghardt. 
Santa Clara: 
R. F. Shorter, J. Madden. 

'/apa : 
W. H. Christopher 
El Dorado : 
J. Cefos, R. fi. Small, 

J. M. Oliver. 



£, 



F.G 



J. 



P. 



TE8: 

TvM: 
P. DcPLEX, Dr. W. J. 0. Bryant. 
Mariposa : 
M. L. Rogers. 

Sonoma : 
P. Killing worth. 

Yolo: 
B. Campbell. 

Alameda and Contra Costa: 
J. Peterson. 

Solano : 
. Barbadoes, proxy for N. E. Speights. 

Sierra : 
P. Dyer, proxy for I. P. Gibbs. 

Santa Cruz: 
A. Bell, proxy for G. W. Smith: 



98 



.A. i> i> n^ e: s s 

— BY TH B — 

STATE CONVENTION OF COLORED CITIZENS 



— TO THB — 



PEOPLE OF CALIFOENIA. 



FEiXOW-CmiEKS : i "e subject to all the liabilitie* and entitled to 

... a]l the riKhls, privileges and iminunities of citi- 

The Conyention of colored citizens, aMcm- ^^^ ff^ citizenship being esublished, we 

bled in Sacramento on the 2ath, 26th, 2.th and ^j^tain that there axe other and still stronger 

28th of October, present their claim for equal ^^^^^ ^^y the rights which are in equity guar- 

rightsbeforethefaw, and proceed -to show on ^^^^^^ ^^ ^jj ^i^i^ens should not be withherd 

what pnnciples thev predicate the^ claim, and ^^^^ ^^ ^y^ ^^ [^ , ^^ jv,g Government, and 

why those nghta should be awarded them in .-ielJ willing obedience to the powers that be. 

common with all other citi/ens. i^^ ^^^^ ^f treason larks within the bosoms of 

First — As freemen by creation, by the tews our race ; no charge of disloyalty has ever been 

of California, and bv the laws of the Republic, brought against one having negro blood in his 

The Declaration of Independence, the great veins. Our love of country is proverbial ; our 

charter or bill of rights of our government, pn devotion to the land of our birth, its customs, 

which is based our National Constitution and habits and institutions, and our reverence for 

aU the laws of our country, says " all men are the laws which govern us, are unquestioned, 

created equal," and, as a sequence, all are en- We have given evidence of our fealty to the 

titled to equal privileges or '• inalienable rights" Union by the ardor with which we tlew to arms 

with which they " are endowed by their Crea- at our country's call, and by the sacrifice of 

tor," and " among those rights" (others being thousands of lives to preserve intact the indis- 




■ihly 

and without which those expressed would be- miny with which we have been treated by the 
eome, a nulity, are the protection of the laws, American people, we have ever maintained a 
and an equal voice in framing those laws and Christian spirit of forgiveness, and a willingness 
choosing tiie administrators thereof. The Con- to sustain our reputation as peace-loving, law- 
stitutionind laws of California make all men abiding citizens, and a desire to perpetuate th« 
free, slai^ery or involuntary servitude is forbid- name and glory of our common country, 
den within her borders, hence all whose citizen- Third — "SVe assert our right to the immuni- 
ship can be established are fully entitled to ii^^ p{ citizenship by our intelligence and moral 
equal rights before the law. Slavery existed for worth, our reputation for truthfulness, the reli- 
three quarters of a century and was sanctioned gious and devotional characteristics of our race, 
by the Government ; it was sustained by com- gnj o^r ability to understand and appreciate 
promises, not by the Constitution, until the the principles of the (Jovernment under which 
(iovernnient declared that slavery and Uepuhli- ^g jj^g -We assert, and defy contradiction, 
can'principles were incompatible with each other and the criminal, sanitary anil eleemosynary 
and could not co-exist, and must be separated, statistics of the country will sustain our asser- 
Then, to effect that object, and» to establish n iIq^, that of the colored population throughout 
llepublLc based on Freedom, the Kmancipation ^\^^ United States, there are fewer criminals and 
Proclamation was issued, and the Constitutional paupers than among any other class of the corn- 
Amendments, abolishing slavery for ever from rnunity. We are a self-sustpining community, 
the land, were introduced. , These positions and and are no burden on the body politic, '>hile we 
facts are known, and need no argument from us contribute to the general expenses of I'ederal 
to establish them, and .'^tate Governments. 

Second — We claim the privilege of citizen- Fjurih — We. claim the Klective Franchise on 
ship by right of birth, as natives of the soil, the universally conceded ground tkjt rejjresen- 
against whom no attainder can exist The t'tion and taxation should accompany each 
former slavery of a portion of our race works no oth.^r. By representation is not meant the 
corruption^ of blood in them ; they are now mc: c fact of being included in the apporlion- 
freemen, and consequently citizens, and as such ment, but by having a voice and vote in choos- 



99 



ing repregentativee. We are Uxed ia common 
with all other citiieng. We pay cheerfully not 
only the State and Municipai tax on property 
and for buginess purposes, but we also pay War 
tax, Poll tax, and all others which are assessed. 
We do not demur at that We live under a 
wise, liberal and beneficent Government, which 
extends its parental protection, like the surilight 
of heaven, on all wno come »ithin its sphere. 
We are willing to aid in sustaining the Govern- 
ment by means, as our brethren have by arms, 
we only claim those rights which should be 
awarded to all citizens of the Republic. We 
also claim additional educational facilities for 
our children. By the present unjust and par- 
tial laws^any of our children are growing up 



in ignorance, deprived of all advantages of edu- 
cation. We require, for the above reasons, full 
and equal school privileges. We are not con- 
tent with primary schools alone, we want the 
higher advantages of education to produce in 
the rising generation the highest development 
of mind. These advantages are open to others, 
and, in a free country, the blessings of educa- 
tion should be diffused on all, irrespective of 
rank or station. 

Fellow-Citizess— We present to you our 
views on this important subject, and we refer 
you to the proceedings of our Convention for a 
fuller explanation of our action on these impor- 
tant subjects. 



— B T THE — 



— TO THE — 

COLORED CITIZENS OF CALIFORNIA. 



Men axd Brethren : 

For the fourth time the colored citizens of 
this State assembled in Convention, by their 
representatives, and at the session just closed a 
degree of harmonv and good feeling prevailuJ, 
unexampled in deliberative bodies. We mev to 
devise ways and means to obtain the hifr]iest 
privilege of citizenship, the Elective Franchise ; 
to increase the educational facilities of our chil- 
dren ; to promote temperance, morality and 
frugalitv : to encourage progress in Agriculture, 
Mechanics, and all the Industrial pursuits, and 
to advance the cause of Tri'TII, \ iutue and 
Christian piety. 

How well we have succeeded in the work for 
which we were appointed, we leave you to jud^e. 
We here lav licfore you the result of our labors, 
and are willing to abide the test of your judg- 
ment. 

We call your attention to the various subjects 
which were under the deliberation' of the Con- 
vention. 

First — And most important, is the position 
we took a? regards Truth, Virtue and Christian 
piety. Although the discussion of these sub- 
jects was not the primary cause for which the 
Convention was called, yet they overbalance all 
other subjects, for without them no good ca-i be 
accomplished. We took high grounds on these 
subjects, and we earnestly invite your attention 



to the report of Committee on Public Morals, 
and the resolutions appertaining thereto intro- 
duced by the Business Committee, and we feel 
confident that your mature judgment will in- 
dorse the action of your representatives. 

Heeond — The Elective Franchise demanded a 
laigc portion of our deliberations. This is an 
important subject, as relating to our interests in 
this country and our rights as men and citizens. 
With ])raycrful consideration we entered upon 
our dutj" and our minds were sorelv exercised 
in view of the great responsibility w}iich rested 
on us. We commend to your noticethe action 
of the Convention, the able report of the Com- 
mittee on that subject, the convincing argument 
produced, and the powerful speeches made on 
the occasion. 

Third — The education of our offspring was 
not neglected. You are doubtless well aware of 
the disabilities we labor under as regards the 
educational progress of the rising generation. 
In consequence of -the unjust provisions of the 
law, in many localities our children arc growing 
up in ignorance. We call upon you to use your 
influence, in your respective localities, to the 
end that our children may receive the advan- 
tages of the Public .Schools. We are taxed for 
the general School Fund, but in many places 
our children are deprived of its benefits. In 
reference to the San Jose School, we believe, 



100 



by united efforts on our part and a small indi- , 
vidual>contpbution, that it can be maJe an In- 
stitute where the hi{;her branches can be taught 
and principles of virtue and religion instilled ' 
into the youthful mind. Thq principal, Profes- 
sor Peter W. Cassev, is well known in this 
State, and by scholarly acquirements and Chris- ' 
tian character he is eminently fitted for his posi- j 
tion. That, however, should not cause us to 
lessen our efforts to obtain a repeal of the ini- 
quitous school law, so that we may have equal 
privilege with others. 

Fourth — We next call your attention to the 
report of the Committee on Industrial pursuits. 
The subjects introduced, and the action taken 
thereon, merit and should receive careful con- 
sideration. To gain an eminence in the new 
field of political equality, toward which our jour- 
ney tends, we must prove ourselves equal in 
art, industry and labor, as well as in knowledge 
and piety, to all others. We must not be satis- 
fied with mediocrity, we must endeavor to excel. 

Fifth — On the subject of .Statistics we are not - 
as full as we would wish. In consequence of 
the Limited attendance at the Conventiob, the ; 



Committee on that Bubject had not sufficient 
material on which to Work. Their report, how- 
ever, is alixe instructive and interesting, and 
although limited, it is reliable. 

Sizlh — We have organized a State Executive 
t'ommittee, consisting of men who are well 
known throughout the State for their ability, 
untiring industry, and devotion to our cause and 
the welfare of mankind. 

Seventh — We have pledged your fealty to the 
Government as order loving, law-abiding citi- 
zens. We are responsible for your loyalty, and 
feel proud of our responsibility. 

In Condition- -Brethren, we urge you to con- 
tinue the good work we have so auspici>)usly 
commenced. Form committees in your respec- 
tive Counties, sustain and encourage them by 
your irreproachaljle conduct, by your industr)- 
and observance of the Christian virtues. En- 
courage also our State Executive Committee. 
Give them to know that you place confidence in 
them and they will repose the same in you. 
And now. Brethren, farewell. May God keep 
and preserve you in the paths of usefulness. 



Orgmnlzatioi> 



ir Ihr Slate EsrcntiTc 
• iui.inlttrc. 



The members ■ '. .'c* of the S. E. C. who were 
in Sacramento, ii If. a preliminary meeting on 
Saturday, the 2'uh October. Present, Basil 
Campbell, Jas. ( <.'bs, Richard A. Hall, Moses 
L. Rogers, John J Moore, Wm. 11. Harper, 
Philip A. Bell, Edwrud I'. Duplex, and Kichajd 
V. Shorter. 

J.J. .Moore wa.s .nppointcd temporary (hair- 
man, and E. P. Duplex, ."-ecretary. 

After some consu tation it was agreed that 
the permanent officers of the E.xecutive Com- 
mittee be a President, Itecording and (,'orre- 
spnnding .■"ccrct.iries, aud a Treasurer. 

Moved, by P. A. l!ell, that Wm. 11. Yates be 
elected President. Carried. 

iloved, by R. .\, Hall, that J. J. Moore be 
elected Recording Secrotar)'. Carried. 

Moved, by E P. Duplex, that R. A. Hall be 
elected Corresponding SLcrctarv. Carried. 

Moved, by J. J. Moore, that jl. F. Shorter be 
elected Treasurer. Carried. 

Moved that the first regular meeting of the 
Committee be held in this city on Monday 
morning next, at 'J o'clock. Carried. 

Adjourned. 

E. P. DlPLKX, 

Temporary Secretary. 



Herting of the State ExrenUre Committee. 

SacR.^.mento, October .3(ith. 

Present, Wm. H. Yates, President, in the 
chair, Messrs. J. J. Moore, R A. Hall, Hasil 
Campbell, M. L. Rogers, Wm. H. Harper, E. 
I'. Duplex, J. Cefos, P. A. Bell. 

Moved, that the officers of this Committee 
form an acting Y lard for the transaction of gen- 
eral business. Carried. 

Moved, that the election for County Execu- 
tive ( ommittses take place before the firs» of 
January, 1*^66. Carried. 

' It w as stated that there were two vacancies in 
the Committee, and it was moved that I. P. 
(;ibbs, of Sierra, and Wm Bird, of Amador, be 
elected members of this Committee. < 'arried. 

Moved, that the sum of twenty-five dollars be 
appropriated to P. A. Bell, Secretary of the 
Convention, for compiling the minutes. Carried. 
J. J. Moore, Secretary. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing Agent; Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: 




k 



MAY 



1998 



BBKKEEPER 



PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES. L.P. 
1 ^ 1 Thomson Park Drive 
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